Two as One
by trainerker
Summary: First Fanfic. Complete! Sara is on a case that hits a little too close to home when she is forced to take in a child that has many similarities to her. CS Friendship, SaraGreg, CW implied.
1. Asimov

"_Violence is the last refuge of incompetent."_

_Isaac Asimov_

"So you are actually taking a vacation?" Greg Sanders said with shock as he was sitting in the break room waiting for assignments to be handed out.

"It's not a vacation, I've used up all my OT weeks ago and Grissom threatened to make me take the whole week off if I tried to work during Memorial Day weekend. So after shift I'm off until Monday night." Sara Sidle groaned.

"So that means you'll be gone, what? Friday during the day, all night, all Saturday and all Sunday, and won't be in till Monday night? Have you ever taken that much time off?" Greg asked sarcastically, but pretty sure that it was true.

"Well, yeah, other than being suspended." Sara quipped. Greg just nodded remembering Sara's suspension earlier that year for telling off Catherine Willows and Conrad Ecklie. Greg knew that was still as sore subject, so he didn't push it.

Gil Grissom walked into the break room. It seems so empty since his graveyard shift had been split into two. He lost Catherine Willows, Nick Stokes, and Warrick Brown to a newly created swing shift. However, he knew that with Catherine as their supervisor the swing shift were in good hands. His graveyard shift now consisted of Sara Sidle, newly appointed CSI Greg Sanders, and an import from day shift, Sophia Curtis. The beginning had been a little rough, but he felt the team was finally beginning to mesh.

"Sophia, you've got a decomp in Henderson. Bring lemons." Grissom announced. "Greg and Sara, you're with me, we have a 419 at a Bed and Breakfast near Lake Mead. You two go ahead and get started I have to feed my cockroaches, and I'll meet up with you." And with that Grissom walked out of the break room.

"See you guys!" Sophia announced trying to avoid the scowl that was on Sara's face. After she had left, Sara leaned over to Greg and grumbled.

"Why does she get to go solo? I out rank her, and she just errr…"

"Calm down, think of it this way, you get to work with me, the coolest guy ever, and you won't be smelling like a DB for the next 12 hours." Greg smirked. He knew Sara didn't care for Sophia, but was also very competitive and always wanted to be the best. Sara gave Greg a smirk lifting her mood a bit, as the two headed out to Sara's Denali.

The trip to the Bed and Breakfast was uneventful. Sara was in better spirits once they got outside of the strip. Greg and Sara began their usual banter between each other. Greg had really appreciated how Sara had taken him under her wing since he had been promoted to a CSI level one. Sara had been exceedingly impressed by how the once quirky lab rat had matured into a quality CSI, and truly begun to enjoy their budding friendship, especially since the team had been broken up.

As the two pulled into the dirt driveway of the Sara took a sharp breath and got very quiet. Greg noticed but wasn't sure if Sara was just preparing herself for the job or if was something else.

"Hey, didn't you say your parents owned a Bed and Breakfast?" Greg asked innocently.

"Yeah, sort of." Sara quickly replied and got out of the SUV before Greg could ask any more questions. Grabbing her kit she made her way to the detective leaning on an unmarked cop car. Greg quickly followed.

"Hey Brass, what do we got?" Sara asked the detective.

"Hey Sara, hey Greg, where's the third musketeer?" Brass smiled.

"He's feeding his cockroach." Greg replied, nodding a greeting at Brass.

"Well guys, we've got a nasty one. Andrew Motts, bludgeoned to death with a knife by his wife Abigale Motts. Lots of blood. Mrs. Motts is pretty banged up herself, the paramedics took her to the hospital along with one of my officers. She's already admitted that she did it, but seemed delusional. They're gonna set up a psych exam after she gets her injuries checked out." Brass stated. He started to slow down when he noticed the color draining out of Sara's face. He knew she was adamant when it came to abuse cases, but this one seem to already be hitting her hard and they had just begun. "Hey Sara, you ok?" Brass asked bringing Sara out of her trance. Sara just nodded and stared at the ground. "Well, there's also another problem. There's a kid, Sadie Mott, 5 years old. No one's seen her and with the house is huge and being in the middle of the woods, she could be anywhere. I've got my men searching the outer parameter, but we're banking on the child being somewhere in the house because it was the girl that called 911. When the first officer showed up she was nowhere to be found." With that, Brass led the two CSI's into the house.

The house was enormous. A large foyer on the right lead into the kitchen where Sara and Greg could see Doc Robbins standing over a white male in his late thirties. The air was so thick with the smell of copper and iron it could almost be tasted. Greg couldn't help but notice Sara's solemn expression. She was usually the last person to be bothered by the stench and sight of death, but there was something about this scene that was making an obvious impression on Sara. "Sara, Greg," Doc Robbins nodded, "Meet Andrew Motts. He bled out via numerous stabbing wounds. TOD was about ninety minuets ago." Greg and Sara just nodded as Grissom walked through the door and joined the two standing over the body.

"I'll start with the body, Sara will you start upstairs, and Greg work on the other rooms on the first floor. Remember there may be a young child, possibly alive, around. Be observant." Grissom stated.

"Hey Griss, isn't that what you pay us for?" Greg smirked while taking off to the other first floor rooms before Grissom could glare at him.

Sara started up the grand staircase trying to shake the images flooding her brain. Not the images of the current case, but of one so similar. One that hit a little too close to home. She shook the images out of her head and entered the first room. It was beautifully decorated with art and oak furniture. Obviously a guest room but seemed not to have been occupied in a long time. It was clean an organized, but a layer of dust was evident on the top of the bureau, cedar chest, and vanity. Nothing look like it had been disturbed, Sara began to take pictures. The next two rooms were in similar states, as well as the communal bathroom. Down the hall a slight ways she found another bathroom and two more guest rooms. She entered the last guest room to find it set up just as the others had been. But somehow, this room had a different feel to it. The others had felt so empty, yet this one had some life to it. Sara noticed the dust on the vanity had been disturbed; she took more pictures and began to fingerprint the vanity. She could hear the murmurs of the officers downstairs and outside looking for the child. She was so young; Sara thought for a moment, that at least she had been older. And with that thought, the memories flooded black, and she struggled to swallow the bile that rose in her throat. After taking a moment to calm down, and being thankful she was alone in the room, she went back to fingerprinting the vanity. She finished quickly, finding a few useable fingerprints. She turned to face the bed with an elegant cedar chest at the foot, as she turned she swore she saw the lid of the cedar chest move. She called out, "Sadie? Are you in here?" Carefully, Sara stood at the edge of the cedar chest and quickly lifted the lid. Shining her flashlight into the chest she a staggering sight.

"I FOUND HER!" Sara shouted, quickly followed by a heard of elephants tromping up the stairs. The little girl looked at Sara with fear etched across her face. Sara was awful with kids, but unfortunately knew what the little girl was feeling. Sara crouched down to the edge of the chest and looked into the little girl's big brown eyes and said in almost a whisper, "It's gonna be ok."

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	2. Lennon

"_Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."_

_John Lennon_

"It's gonna be ok." Sara whispered to the child just as Brass came running to the door. Ignoring that it was an active crime scene, Brass flip the light on and walked over to Sara who was still crouched next to the child. At the sight of the burly man, the little girl curled into a ball into the corner of the chest.

"Hey kiddo, it's ok, I'm a police man, I'm here to help you." The little girl looked up but made no motion to move. "Why don't we go downstairs and have the paramedics check you out." Brass added hoping that the little girl would show some response. Carefully the little girl looked at Brass then back to Sara. The little girl scooted over towards Sara and stared at her with her big brown eyes. Brass noticed that there was obviously some sort of connection between the two and suggested that Sara take the little girl downstairs to see the paramedics.

Sara looked at Brass slightly confused and stated, "How?" But before he could answer both adults turned to see the little girl place her hand on top of Sara's that had been idly lying on the edge of the chest. The little girl stood up and got out of the chest still holding on to Sara's hand. Sara looked at Brass and Brass just replied with a shrug. Sara took the little girl's hand and led her downstairs and outside to the ambulance.

"Hey Sara, stay with her, call us when you need a ride back." Grissom stated. Sara frowned wondering why she always had to play the babysitter, remember back to her first year in Vegas when there was a quadruple murder and she had to play babysitter to a girl not much older than Sadie. She would have put up more of a fight to stay with the case and send Greg to the hospital with the child since she out ranked him, but the similarities of this case and her own childhood, if you could call it that, were already weighing heavily on her.

Sara and Sadie climbed into the ambulance with Sadie refusing to let go of Sara's hand. The ambulance was small and crowded with the paramedics, Sara and Sadie so Sara ended up sitting next to Sadie on the cot. Sara looked at the small girl, not knowing where to begin. "So…. My name's Sara, and I'm guessing your Sadie?" Sara asked the girl. The girl just barely responded with a nod.

"So Sadie, my name's Kerri and I'm a paramedic, and I'm gonna help take care of you. This is my teddy bear, do you want to hold him for me? Do you have any boo-boo's or ouchie's?" The paramedic said calmly. Sara was relieved that at least someone knew how to talk to the child. Sadie took the teddy bear but didn't respond. Instead she just looked back to Sara. Sara was confused and asked the child.

"So do you.. umm.. have any boo-boo's or ouchie's?" Sara repeated the question, with the words feeling foreign to her. Sadie shook her head no, and shimmed closer to Sara. Sara just sat there not knowing what to do.

With Sara's help, the paramedic was able to get a basic set of vitals for the child. The paramedic would slowly explain what she was going to do first showing Sadie by using the teddy bear, and then she would do the same to the child, but the Sadie looked to Sara each time. Sara tried uncomfortably to encourage the child but ended up physically helping the paramedic take the child's blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, pulse, and respirations. By the time the ambulance had reached the hospital, Sadie was practically in Sara's lap.

As the entered the Emergency Room, they were greeted by a flurry of activity. People getting a head start on the holiday weekend were already beginning to stream through the doors of the ER. Sadie, with Sara close in tow, was triaged and escorted to a quiet room. Sadie sat on the hospital bed with the teddy bear that the paramedic had given her in one hand, while still clutching Sara's hand with the other. After a while, a young doctor came into the room. He introduced as Dr. Rogers, and looked at the girl and said, "You know, like Mister Rogers?" Sadie looked at him with a blank stare but received a slight nod from Sara. The doctor thoroughly examined Sadie, and told Sara that she seemed to be in good physical condition, despite being short and underweight for her age. Thankfully, there were no physical signs of abuse one the child. The doctor explained to Sara that DCFS would be down to speak with her, however it may be a while, seeing that it was the holiday weekend and they were more short-staffed than usual. Sara looked at the child and said, "I'm going to make a phone call, but I'll come right back." The little girl looked at Sara with soulful eyes and said.

"Stay."

Surprised by the quietness of the little girl's voice, she reluctantly stayed in the room, reaching for her phone to call Grissom. Sara explained what the doctor had said, being careful not to say too much in front of Sadie. She also told Grissom about the delay with DCFS, and that she didn't know what time she would need a ride back to the lab. Grissom told Sara that they had found the knife that was most likely used and it was looking like Mrs. Motts was the sole eradicator.

After she had gotten off the phone, Sara looked at the child and asked, "Do you know what happened tonight?" Sadie didn't say anything but the fear that flashed before her big brown eyes was enough to let Sara know that the child had scene what had happened. Sara felt sick. Sick for the child, and sick for herself. Somehow the very privet side of Sara came out, as she quietly whispered to Sadie, "I know how you feel." And with that, Sadie climbed into Sara's lap and cuddled up against her. Sara felt incredibly awkward, but as time went on, she began to relax.

Two hours and twenty-five minuets later short African-American woman came into the room. She introduced herself as Rene and explained to Sara that they were in the process of trying to locate an emergency home for Sadie until she could be sent to a group home after the holiday. Sara cringed; she knew what Sadie would have in store for her. Rene excused herself and told Sara that she would return shortly. It was already well after midnight, and Sadie had long since fallen asleep still sitting in Sara's lap.

Another two hours passed and Grissom had sent Greg to find Sara who was still at the hospital, waiting for Rene to "return shortly." Greg smiled as he walked into the room and saw the child asleep in Sara's lap. Sara was not a person who would seem maternal, but she also didn't seem all that uncomfortable. Sara was relieved to see Greg, at least it was better than counting the tiles on the floor for the tenth time by now.

"I see you made a friend," Greg smiled at her.

"She uhh… just kinda… climbed into my lap. I didn't know what to do, you know I'm bad with kids." Sara mumbled. But Greg still smiled. "The lady, Rene, from DCFS said she 'return shortly' two hours ago, which means I've been sitting her for four hours and twenty-five minuets. They're looking for and emergency home to put her in, and then after the weekend to a group home." Greg saw the sourness that was on Sara's face as she said the words 'group home'.

"Hey Sara, can I ask you a question?" Greg asked tenativly.

"Does it look like I'm going anywhere?" Sara said as she rolled her eyes.

"So, why didn't you put up a fight when Grissom made you go with Sadie to the hospital. I mean, you're a level three and I'm only a level one, I thought I was suppose to do all the grunt work." Greg asked hoping that by making fun of himself that Sara wouldn't get flustered.

"I don't know," Sara quickly replied, know that it was probably because Grissom knew what had happened to her as a child, and this was an immaculate replica, but nobody else knew her past, and she wasn't about to expose herself. "Maybe because it was a pretty clean cut case. Mrs. Motts confessed even before we got there, so maybe he was just getting you more experience." Sara replied hoping that it sounded genuine.

There was a knock at the door, and Rene walked in. She introduced herself to Greg and looked fearfully at Sara. She didn't know the woman, but she guessed she'd be the type of person that didn't like to wait.

"Well Miss. Sidle there is a bit of a problem," Rene began, "Because of the holiday weekend, the majority of the emergency families, are on vacation. We're having trouble finding somewhere to place her, even if it's just for the weekend. It may be a while longer till we can find anything. And especially at this hour." Rene spoke, as she quickly made sure she was arms distance away from Sara.

Sara was not amused, and Greg could tell, but before he could stop himself he blurted out, "Hey Sara, since you're off this weekend, maybe you could take Sadie? It's not like you have any plans other than reading The Journal of Forensic Science" Greg swallowed as he realized what he just said, but was surprised to see Sara more shocked and confused than ready to kill him.

"Well, Miss. Sidle, if you are free as your coworker says, I don't see why we couldn't get that to work. It's obvious Sadie already feels comfortable with you or she wouldn't be sleeping in your lap." Rene hoped this maybe encouraging.

"But, what if I did have plans?" Sara said, still recovering from the shock of what Greg had said.

"Oh come on, you know you don't!" Greg quickly said, and receiving the look of death from Sara now that some of the shock had worn off.

"Miss. Sidle, it would only be the weekend, it really wouldn't be that bad, and I'm sure Sadie would like it." Rene tried to encourage with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"But I don't know the first thing to do with a kid!" Sara quickly retorted.

"Does anyone at first?" Greg replied with a smirk. Sara sat there and thought about it for a few minuets. It's true she didn't have anything to do this weekend. But what was she going to do with a child? It's not like a dog where you can leave it outside for a few hours when you need a break. But the little girl did feel oddly comfortable sound asleep in Sara's lap.

"But I still have to work till eight, if I was to take her for the weekend, what am I going to do with her till then?" Sara asked hoping that there might be an out somehow.

"I'll call Grissom, it was dead enough for him to send me in search of you, I'm sure he'd let you go home early." Greg said with a smile on his face. Somehow, he felt that this child should be with Sara. The child looked enough like Sara to be her own child, with big brown eyes, just like Sara's and loosely curled brown hair just like Sara. And the way the child was curled up in Sara's lap just motivated Greg to try. Greg quickly called Grissom and explained what was going on. Though Grissom was shocked that Sara might be willing to take the child for the weekend, he was willing to let her go. Maybe it would be good for the both of them, there seemed to be a kindred spirit between his CSI and the child, and maybe that was a good thing. Plus it would keep Sara from trying to come in on her weekend off, she was already leading the OT record. Grissom told Greg to drive Sara and the child back to the lab and then home as long as Sara came in to check with him first. Greg relayed the message and almost saw a faint smile on Sara's face, yet it was as big as the gaping one that Rene displayed.

"Oh, this will be a good thing. And I'm sure you'll be fine. Now I'll just be ten minuets with the paper work, and you three can get on your way." Rene said as she bounced out of the room.

Greg looked at Sara and asked, "You really going to do this?"

Sara looked at him, and replied, "Yeah, I guess so. But I think it'll be at least another two hours before Rene comes back." And they both laughed.

Surprisingly, Rene was back within a half an hour with paperwork for Sara to sign and information for Sara to fill out. Sara would keep Sadie until Tuesday morning when the DCFS office opened, well at least until Monday night, where she had to go into work, but Greg willingly offered to take Sadie on his night off.

As the left the hospital, Sara carried Sadie out to Greg's car. Sara got a full understanding of how underweight Sadie was. Sara remembered that her car was still back at the Bed and Breakfast but Greg told her it was safely back at the lab. As fear flashed in Sara's eyes, Greg quickly replied not to worry because he only put a few dents in it on the drive back. Sara was fuming till she realized Greg was just joking, but she made a mental note to take a careful look at her car in the morning. Sara placed Sadie in the back seat and buckled her in, as she climbed into the passenger seat. She was too tired by now to fight with Greg as to who was going to drive. Greg just smirked as he climbed into the driver's seat and they were off to the lab.

Once they got back to the lab, Sara balanced, the still sleeping child on her hip as she made her way to Grissom's office. She received quite a few strange looks from the lab tech's that were not only shocked to see Sara with a child, but one that looked so much like her. In Grissom's office Sara laid the child down on the couch and sat across the desk from Grissom whom had been carefully observing Sara's actions.

"Well, Sara, I've got to say, this is very surprising of you." Sara looked at Grissom confused. "It is surprising, but I think that it is very impressive of you. Enjoy your weekend off, and call us if you need anything."

"Uh, yeah, thanks.." Sara replied stunned. For so long she had worked for Grissom's approval, and here he was giving it because Sara was literally taking her work home. She picked up Sadie and headed out to her car.

After loading the child into the passenger seat, she was amazed that the child had still not woken up. She checked to see if she was still breathing, just in case, and she was. Sara got into the driver's side and started on her way to her apartment. As Sadie slept, Sara kept looking over at her. Slowly the implications of having a child, even for just a weekend were beginning to settle in. She wondered what had she gotten herself into?

By the time Sara made it to her apartment, she was just short of an anxiety attack. What was she going to do with the kid? Where was she going to sleep? Sara only had a modest one-bedroom apartment so who was going to sleep where? And what about food? And clothes? By the time Sara made it up three flights of stairs with the sleeping child she was exhausted herself. But still worried. Who could she call? Grissom had offered his help, but he was bad enough with adults? What did he know about children? And Greg, whom had gotten her into this mess, was deep into another case? And Sophia? There's no way she was going to ask her for anything. And then she thought about it. The only one with a child was Catherine. She would know what to do. But after Sara's blow up at her, Catherine was not likely to be willing to help. But Catherine liked kids; she would know what to do. So idly swallowed her pride as she laid the still sleeping Sadie on her couch. And picked up her phone.


	3. Beck

ElisaCollette, anneruhland, meg-bing, Veronica10, money makes me smile, Shy Butterfly, Mooch, You guys rock! Thanks so much for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the rest! Erica, you rock too, but I was using bludgeoned with the sense that it would take a large amount of force for a small women to kill a large man, no matter how sharp, thanks for keeping me on my toes. But still thanks for all the great words!

_Any transition serious enough to alter your definition of self will require not just small adjustments in your way of living and thinking but a full-on metamorphosis._

******_Martha Beck_**

"Willows" Catherine groggily picked up the phone.

"Um.. hi…Catherine, this is Sara, I think, um, I need your help." Sara tentatively mumbled into the phone.

"Sara! Do you know what time it is? You may be still at work but other people no longer work graveyard shift and appreciate their sleep." Catherine growled into the phone. Why would Sara need her help?

"Its about a case, well it is a case, and I thought you might know what to do better than anyone else." Sara tried to sound hopeful, she could already tell Catherine was pissed for being woken up in the middle of the night. She just hoped that Catherine would listen long enough and not hang up.

"You know what Sara? I don't really what kind of case you have with a stripper; I'm not in the mood to help you. You have other coworkers, and you have Grissom, I think you have more than enough help than you need. Now if you don't mind I'd like to get back to sleep." Catherine growled into the phone, getting more and more irritated.

"NO, wait, it's a kid." Sara quickly interrupted, just hoping that Catherine wouldn't hang up.

"Huh?"

"There's a kid, and DCFS didn't have any free housing, and Greg volunteered that I have the weekend off, and I ended up taking it home." Sara babbled.

"A kid? Does 'it' have a name? An age? A sex? Are you saying you literally took your work home?" Catherine replied, utterly confused by where Sara was going with this. Of all people, Catherine thought, Sara would be the last to take a kid home.

"Yeah, yeah, her name's Sadie, she's five. Grissom, Greg, and I responded to a 419 at a Bed and Breakfast near Lake Mead, the mother stabbed the father and I found the little girl when I was fingerprinting a bedroom. Grissom made me go to the hospital with her, and they had no where to place her, so Greg volunteered me to take her home for the weekend until they find a placement for her since I have the weekend off." Sara rattled off quickly hoping that Catherine would just listen for a little bit longer.

"Ok," Catherine replied, still confused, "So why do you need my help? Sara, I'm not playing babysitter for you, you got yourself into this mess. You're going to have to deal with it."

"No, no it's not that. I'm not asking you to baby-sit; I just wanted to know what to do. You have Lindsey, and you're a good mother, and now I have Sadie staying here for the weekend, and I don't know what to do. I mean, where do I have her sleep? What do 5-year-olds eat? What are they like when they aren't sleeping?" Sara quipped, just hoping that Catherine would understand and be willing to help her.

Catherine was a little taken aback from Sara's complement. I was no joke that the two women did not get along, but for some reason, Sara felt like she could turn to Catherine and that seemed to alleviate some of Catherine's dismay at being woken up. "Ok, so where is, Sadie, is it? Right now?"

"She's asleep on my couch. She fell asleep at the hospital and has been asleep ever since. I checked to see if she was sill breathing in the car because she hasn't moved, and we were at the hospital hours ago, but she's still breathing and has some how slept through the whole thing." Sara replied. She heard Catherine chuckle on the other end of the line. Catherine was amused with the fact that a child's resistance to waking up was foreign to Sara.

"Well, why don't you cover her with a blanket and go to bed yourself." As much as Catherine was apprehensive to help Sara, she was intrigued. She wanted to see this for herself. She figured if Sara could be big enough to ask for help, maybe Catherine could help. With the limited number of women working in the lab, it was hard to be in constant battle with them while trying to prove to the men that she could hold her own. Catherine figured what harm could come from giving Sara some friendly advice. "In the morning, I would suggest going to WalMart or Sears and picking up some basics for her. Take her with you. You do have a booster seat in your car for her right?"

"What's a 'booster seat'?" Sara asked innocently. And with that Catherine knew Sara was in over her head.

"Ok, ok, change of plans. You don't need help you need a miracle. How about this: I'll give you a call tomorrow morning when I get up. I think I still have Lindsey's old booster seat around here somewhere. Lindsey has the day off from school so her and I will come over and the four of us will go shopping. Do you think you can make it till morning?"

"I think I can. Is it ok to just let her sleep on the couch?" Sara was taken back by Catherine's willingness to help, but was so appreciative.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be fine." Catherine was amused by the worry in Sara's voice.

"Thanks Cath, I mean, really, thank you. I know we haven't really gotten along. Well, honestly we don't get along. But you were the only one I of that would know what to do. And this little girl has been through a lot and I want to do something right for her. Thank you. Really" Sara truthfully replied.

After hanging up with Catherine, Sara felt a little better. She covered the little girl with a blanket, who to Sara's shock was still sleeping. And got ready for bed her self. Sleep didn't come easy; Sara was still worried about Sadie, and was nervous about what was going to happen with Catherine in the morning.

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	4. Longfellow

"_Give what you have. To someone it maybe better than you dare to think."_

_Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_

Sara woke a little after nine. Rubbing her eyes she wondered if the events of the previous night had just been a really strange dream. As she walked out to the kitchen to she saw Sadie sleeping soundly on the couch. It wasn't a dream, but Sara wasn't upset. True she didn't have a clue as to what to do once the child woke up, but she didn't feel as worried as she did last night. As she started up the coffee machine, her phone rang.

"Sidle"

"Hey Sara, it's Catherine. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was just got up. Listen I'm really sorry about waking you up last night." Sara apologized.

"Don't worry, I think you had a good enough reason. So are you still up for some shopping? I found the booster seat in the garage. It's a little beat up, but is still functional. Lindsey and I haven't eaten yet, so maybe we could stop by the diner." Catherine asked, she wasn't sure if Sara wasn't sure if Sara was as desperate as for help as she sounded last night.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I still have to get changed. By the way, what is the booster seat used for?" Sara was happy Catherine was willing to help, but confused with the apparent need for someone to have a 'booster seat.'

"It's like a car seat for kids that are too big for a car seat, but still too small to ride safely in a car. It's law in Nevada that kids under 4"9' or under 85 pounds ride in a booster seat. You really didn't know this Sara?" Catherine this was going to be an interesting learning experience for both of them.

"Catherine, it's not like they teach you this stuff at Harvard? How was I supposed to know? How did you learn all this stuff? Is there some book or journal I can read that will explain all this to me?" Sara quipped a little to sharply.

"Girl, there are hundreds of books. We'll get you taken care of, don't worry. Lindsey and I will be over in about a half an hour. You are going to survive." Somehow, Catherine thought.

As Sara was on the phone, Sadie began to wake up. She didn't know where she was, but could see Sara at the table talking on the phone. She remembered what happened last night but was happy to see she was still with Sara.

"Hey kiddo, you're awake." Sara said as she noticed Sadie moving around. "My uh.. frie… uh.. Coworker is going to come over with her daughter Lindsey and we're all going to go shopping. How does that sound?" Sara still wasn't too sure how to speak to the little girl. Sadie looked at Sara and nodded. The little girl walked over to where Sara was sitting and whispered.

"Bathroom?"

"Oh, yeah right down here," Sara ushered the Sadie down the hall. "You can, umm, get ready here, I'm going to go in my room and change. We're going to the diner for breakfast." Sara didn't know what else to say as the little girl walked into the bathroom and closed the door. As Sara got dressed, she realized that Sadie didn't have anything to change into. The clothes she had been wearing were worn and somewhat dirty. Sara knew she'd have to pick up some clothes for Sadie, as well as whatever Catherine had in mind.

"Mom, why do you have a booster seat in the back seat of the car?" Lindsey asked worriedly.

"Well, Sara has a 5-year-old staying with her for the weekend and she doesn't have anything. Plus I think you're a little too big for it now. So we're going to help them out. We'll go to breakfast first, and then going shopping."

"So I get to spend my day off with two boring adults and a 5-year-old. Ugg." Lindsey wined. "I thought you didn't like Sara anyways, why are you helping her?"

"Sara and I have our differences, but this isn't about her or me, it's about helping out a little girl that just lost both her parents. Do you think you could help us too? I know you like shopping." Catherine was not in the mood to deal was a grumpy 13-year-old, but she knew how caring Lindsey could be and hoped that would be the side that was present. Lindsey had been through a rough patch and Catherine was about at her wits end.

"Yeah, I guess. Does she have a name?" Lindsey, still not thrilled with who was going to be her company, but she did like to go shopping.

"It's Sadie, and she got to Sara's late last night. That's all I know." Catherine replied thinking back to her conversation last night. She spent more time calming Sara down, than learning about the child. Well other than the child could sleep.

Catherine knocked on Sara's door. Lindsey stood next to her occupied by her MP3 player. Sara opened the door and welcomed them in.

"Sadie, this is my coworker Catherine, and her daughter Lindsey." Sara tentatively introduced the two to the little girl. Sadie looked at the two visitors and quickly went to Sara and grabbed her hand.

Surprising both women, Lindsey went over to Sadie and bent down to her level and said, "Hey Sadie, are you ready to go to breakfast? Do you like pancakes or waffles better? The food at the diner's really good." Sadie didn't reply but smiled at Lindsey.

"Wow, Sara, she looks so much like you!" Catherine said. The same dark eyes and dark hair, Catherine could only assume that this must have been what Sara looked like as a little girl.

"Greg said the same thing. So you guys ready to go? Did you bring that booster seat thing?" Sara asked as she grabbed her purse and motioned for the crew to head out to the car. Sadie held fast to Sara's hand but was enticed by Lindsey.

Catherine introduced Sara to the mystery that had been the booster seat. She showed Sara how to load and secure the seat, and turned to Sadie and said, "You ready to go?" As she picked up the little girl, "Here you go, this is going to be the seat that you get to ride in." Sara was shocked that Sadie didn't fight Catherine. Catherine sat her in the seat and proceeded to show Sara how to strap her in. The rest climbed into the car and they were off to the diner.

_Read, review, rant, rave! Thanks!_


	5. Adler

To everyone who has reviewed, YOU GUYS ROCK MY WORLD! Thank you so much for all your kind words and encouragement. I truly appreciate it! However, on a sadder note, I may not be able to update for a few days. I have plenty of ideas, however I have a very large research paper due Wed. and it is the last paper I'll ever have to write in my college career so it's got to be a good one. But I'll be back soon enough, I promise! Thanks so much again!

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"_To care for anyone else enough to make their problems one's own, is ever the beginning of one's real ethical development."_

_Felix Adler_

About half way to the diner, Sara's phone began to ring.

"Sidle"

"Hey Sara, it's Greg. Is the kid still alive?" Greg asked jokingly, however, he was curious to see if the two has survived the night.

"Yeah, piece of cake. No problems." Sara quickly replied. Greg could hear somebody obviously clear his or her throat in the background. "Ok, so maybe there were a few problems. But I called Catherine and she's helping me out."

"Seriously? You called Catherine? She must have been pissed when you woke her up! Among other things, she's helping you? Are you with her now or something?" Greg was shocked to hear Sara had sought help for anything, and on top of that Catherine. Sara's blow up was no secret among the lab.

"Yeah, we're in the car on the way to the diner. We're going to stop and get breakfast and then go shopping."

"Come on, Sara, that's too much, I don't believe you." Greg was shocked enough by Sara calling Catherine, but to voluntarily got to breakfast AND shopping with Catherine it was just too much. Sara could hear the confusion in Greg's voice and just decided to hand the phone over to Catherine.

"Hey Greggo! Long time no see!" Catherine spoke into the phone. "So you don't believe that I am a compassionate enough person to help Sara out when she in over her head?" Catherine asked.

"No, no, it's just… you… Sara… don't.." Greg was stunned to hear Catherine's voice, much less that she was helping Sara without being held against her will.

"Hey, why don't you join us for breakfast? You must be almost done with your shift by now? We've got Lindsey and Sadie in tow with us." Catherine quickly interrupted. She didn't want to get into why the sudden change of heart, but also knew that Greg would never turn down an invitation to join Sara.

"Yeah, that sounds good, but I'm gonna skip out on shopping. I tired and I don't think I could manage shopping with four women." Greg was tired, but rebuffed to turn down anything that would mean spending some time with Sara. True, he had had a crush on her since the day he met her, but now the crush had turned more into admiration and a good friendship. He loved how her mind worked and that he could get away with ripping on her and she that would give it right back.

"We'll see you in a little bit. Bye Greggo!" With that, Catherine hung up the phone and handed it back to Sara.

Arriving at the diner the same time as Greg, the women climbed out of the Denali. Catherine waited to see if Sara could figure out how to get Sadie out of the booster seat, with out trying to laugh too much. Greg came around the door to see what Catherine was laughing at and was meet by Sara finally succeeding to free Sadie from the booster seat.

"Hey Sadie, remember me? My name's Greg, I met you last night. Wow, Sara, I'm impress you thought to get a booster seat. I would have guessed you didn't even know what one was." Greg stated nodding his head. This was too much for Catherine and she couldn't hold back her laughter. As embarrassed as she was that even Greg knew what a booster seat was, she had to laugh too.

"Um, no, this is all Catherine. It was Lindsey's old seat and she brought it over for me this morning." Sara mumbled as Catherine struggled to gain her composure.

Sadie attached herself to Sara's hand as Sara placed her on the ground. She looked around and reached out for Lindsey's hand. Lindsey smiled at her and took her hand. Catherine was shocked, but pleased with her daughter's kindness.

The diner was a common place for the CSI to go after a shift. Catherine, Greg, and Sara didn't even have to look at a menu to know what they wanted. Sadie who was sandwiched between Sara and Lindsey was given a children's menu and some crayons to color with. Lindsey carefully looked over the menu, happy she had not been handed a kids menu.

"So Sadie, what do you like?" Lindsey chirped. Sadie just shrugged. "Do you like pancakes?" The little girl nodded. "Do you like waffles?" The little girl nodded again. "Ok, how about you get pancakes and I'll get waffles and we can share? Is that ok, Sara?" Lindsey asked carefully.

"Sure, that's fine." Sara blurted out. How was it that everyone knew how to talk to a child except for her? Catherine sat awestruck at her daughter's own maturity. What this really her daughter? Not that Catherine was upset in anyway, just completely and utterly shocked. But after the proceedings of the last 8 hours, Catherine figured anything was possible.

The waitress delivered their meals and the group began to eat. Sara noticed that Sadie was tentative to begin eating, but after seeing everyone else thoroughly enjoying his or her food, she began to eat as well. Sadie ate all of her pancakes, most of Lindsey's waffles, and whatever scraps the rest had left on their plates. The adults could see how small the young girl was and was pleased to see her eating with vigor. As the group began to finish off their meals, Greg stood up, and said that he was leaving to get some sleep. He asked Sara if it was ok to stop by before work later and she readily agreed. Greg walked over to the cash register and paid for his meal and the others as he left. Sara and Catherine discussed what their plans were for shopping as they finished off their coffee. First the crew would attack WalMart, getting some clothes and basics to last Sadie the weekend, then they would go to the grocery store so that Sara and Sadie wouldn't be eating take out for every meal. As this was settled the crew made their way to the register the waitress said to both Catherine and Sara that they should bring their daughters by more often. Catherine smiled as Sara stood there with shock etched across her face. The women were also pleasantly surprised to be informed that Greg had already paid for all of their meals.

Sara placed Sadie in her booster seat, and with minimal struggle was able to get her buckled. Catherine still laughed. Seeing Sara with a child was just such an unusual site. On the way to WalMart, Catherine and Sara talked about what to get. Sara turned to Catherine with a worried look on her face and asked.

"How do I know what size clothes to get her?" Catherine just laughed and said.

"That's what they have dressing rooms for." Sara, feeling the stupor decided before she made more of a fool of herself, to just flat out ask what else Sadie would need. Catherine thought for a moment, and replied.

"Well how about, a toothbrush, hair brush, hair ties, shampoo and conditioner, some clothes, some pj's, coloring book and crayons, a stuffed animal, maybe a bathing suit, and a bag to put her stuff in." Sara was shocked; she hadn't even thought about half of that stuff. She had defiantly turned to the right person.

As the crew made their way through WalMart, they picked up all the things that Catherine had mentioned and quite a few more. Lindsey had convinced them to get some bubble bath an a few other items. She seemed to be enjoying herself and Catherine was thankful for the peace that had suddenly come over Lindsey.

After paying for the items and loading them into the car, Sara again buckled Sadie into the booster seat with much less struggle. They drove off to the grocery store to pick up some basics. Getting a variety of items, Sara was sure this would be the most food she's had in her apartment since she got to Vegas. And this was only for a weekend? She couldn't image how often or when Catherine must have the time to shop for herself and Lindsey.

As they made their way back to Sara's apartment, she realized that the morning had been quite fun. Catherine was explaining a lot of stuff to her, but did it respectfully. Sara was so thankful for all of Catherine's help. Everyone grabbed the bags as they headed up to Sara's apartment. Sadie proudly carried her new backpack, even thought it didn't have anything in it yet. Sara was happy Sadie hadn't wanted one of the backpacks with cartoon characters on it, but had just opted for a basic blue one.

As Catherine helped Sara put away her mountain of purchases, Lindsey happily played with Sadie in the living room. Sadie hadn't said anything through out the morning, but was smiling and loving the attention that Lindsey was giving her. As Sara was unpacking she came across the bubble bath that Lindsey had convinced her to get. She looked at it and looked at Catherine.

"Are you trying to tell me you don't know how to give her a bath?" Catherine read Sara. Sara just nodded and the two laughed. Why would Sara know how to bathe a child? Compared to some of her questions earlier, it hadn't really come as a surprise to Catherine. Sara announced that she was going to give Sadie a bath, and Catherine proceeded to show Sara how to measure the temperature of the water and how to add the bubble bath to get the most bubbles. Lindsey volunteered to give Sadie a bath and help her change into some new clothes. Catherine and Sara quickly agreed seeing that this could be an opportune time to talk with out the interruptions of a 5 or 13 year-old.

Sara grabbed two sodas out of the frig and handed one to Catherine as they sat down. They began to talk about the case, and Sara filled Catherine in with the details of what had happened the night before.

"So has she spoken at all yet? It's obvious that she understands when we're talking to her, but I haven't heard her speak yet." Catherine observantly noted.

"Other than saying 'stay' when we were in the hospital when I wanted to go outside and make a phone call, and this morning when she asked 'bathroom?' that's all she's said." Sara commented. Catherine just nodded.

"So how exactly did Greg convince you to take her for the weekend?" Catherine was amazed with Sara taking the child home, but was beginning to see a deeper connection between the two.

"It wasn't really he convinced me, but volunteered me. The DCFS worker was so excited; I really didn't have a choice. Plus going to an emergency family, and then to a group home is traumatic and awful." Sara's own memories flashed before her eyes. Catherine noticed the change in Sara's expressions, and became intrigued.

"How do you know?" Catherine asked cautiously. Sara was a privet person, but it was obvious to anyone that had worked with her how involved she became with cased of abuse.

"I.. I.. just do.." Sara said wishing that Catherine wasn't so observant. Damn her for being such a good CSI. Luckily the conversation was broken up by laughter coming from the bathroom. Sara and Catherine carefully walked towards the bathroom to discover that Lindsey was almost as wet sitting outside the tub as Sadie was sitting inside the tub. Both girls were laughing like crazy. Sadie stood up as Sara wrapped a towel around her and handed one to Lindsey. Sara dressed the little girl and brushed out her hair as Lindsey was toweling off. Both Sara and Catherine were astonished to see the joy on both of the girl's faces. Sara noticed Sadie's eyes getting heavy and asked the girl if she was getting tired. Sadie nodded, so Sara picked her up, and brought her into Sara's bedroom before tucking her into Sara's bed. Sadie smiled and closed her eye. Sara sat on the bed watching her for a moment before joining Catherine and Lindsey in the kitchen.

Catherine picked up on some of the awkwardness that Sara was giving off and announced that it was probably time to go so that she could change and get Lindsey to her sister's before she left for work. Sara just smiled and thanked Catherine for the hundredth time that day. Catherine told her that there was no need, and to call her if she had any other questions.

After Catherine left, Sara checked on Sadie who was now sound asleep and went back out to living room fully intent on reading her new Journal of Forensic Science. Less than an article into the journal, Sara was sound asleep herself.

_Read, review, rant, rave! Thanks so much!_


	6. Shaw

You all continually amaze me with your kind words. You are awesome! I have figured out where I want to go with this story (I had to keep myself entertained in Research Methods ATR 478 some how) so I hope that you all continue to read, review and most of all enjoy!

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"_There is no secret better kept than secrets that everybody guesses."_

_George Bernard Shaw_

Catherine and Lindsey climbed into their car and headed back to their house. Catherine was going to tell Lindsey how pleased she had been with her behavior, but Lindsey had already put on her MP3 player and was off in the land of teenagers. Catherine just smiled.

After a quick meal and dropping Lindsey off at Catherine's sister's, Catherine made her way to the lab. Hoping that the night would be slow enough that she could make up for her loss of sleep in her closet of an office. Checking her mailbox on the way to the break room, she was pleased to see one case. A basic B&E. Something that any of them could easily do solo, but figured that she might as well send both Nick and Warrick so that they could finish it quickly in case something more trying came in. As she walked into the break room she noticed both men flicking a paper football across the table, apparently deeply engrossed in some game.

"You know, most guys stop doing that once they reach high school." Catherine teased.

"Well, good afternoon to you too." Warrick smiled. "We're just staying young at heart."

"Man, that's sappy." Nick retorted, distancing himself from Warrick. "What have you got for us today Cath?"

"Basic B&E, think you guys are 'man' enough to handle it?" Catherine replied. She loved teasing the guys, and knew they'd give it right back to her. Nick took the slip from Catherine and started to look it over. "Work quickly, I'm going to be in my office until something comes in."

"You ok Cath? You look kind of tired." Warrick worried, he noticed the tired expression, and was well aware that the only time Catherine worked in her office was while trying to catch a few zzz's. Usually Catherine was reading in the break room or torturing the lab techs if there wasn't anything else to do.

"Thanks Rick, and you look beautiful too," Catherine snorted. "Sara called me at the crack of dawn needing help. I got her calmed down and we meet a couple hours later for food and shopping."

"Wait a second, did you just say Sara called you? Needing help? Needing to be calmed down? And you meet up for food and shopping? What's going on?" Nick looked up shocked. Both men were staring at Catherine as if she had three heads. They both like Sara, and she was like a sister to them, but Sara and Catherine were rarely on speaking terms the past few months, and everyone knew it.

"Yeah, she had this case where the wife stabbed the husband to death and Sara found the missing little girl. Grissom sent her to the hospital with the little girl, and eventually DCFS told Sara they couldn't find a place to put the little girl for the weekend so Greg volunteered Sara, since she is off the rest of the weekend. And Sara ended up taking the little girl home." Catherine replied, but was interrupted by Warrick.

"Is Greg still alive? Man, Sara must have killed him for volunteering her. She hates kids."

"Yes, yes, Greg, Sara and Sadie, that's the little girl, are all still alive as of this morning. Sara called me in a panic when she got back her apartment with the kid. I think this just might have been the first time that Sara was clueless. We met in the morning for breakfast with Sadie and Lindsey in tow, and then went shopping so that Sara would have the basics to survive the weekend with a 5-year-old. She's a cute kid, looks exactly like Sara."

Nick and Warrick sat there stunned. Neither knew what to say. They knew Catherine would joke around with them but this was too far out of left field to even be a joke.

"We got to see this for ourselves." Nick replied and Warrick nodded.

"Well maybe later, right now you have a case. When you're done I'll be in my office."

With that Catherine left the two men who were still sitting in the break room stunned. She thought about what had happened during the morning, and how adamant and distance Sara had been when saying that the emergency family and group homes were going to be an awful experience. They all knew how Sara became sensitive with cases dealing with abuse, but no one knew why.

A thought flashed before Catherine. Now that she was a supervisor, she had access to the employee's personnel files. Maybe there would be something in Sara's file that would explain her behavior. Catherine made it back to her office and closed the door. She had the authority to look at employee's personnel files, but she knew digging into Sara's background just wasn't an admirable thing to do. Well, she figured, it wasn't the first time she had done something less than professional.

The only information that Catherine was able to find was that Sara grew up in a Bed and Breakfast in Tamales Bay, California, and that she had graduated from high school a year early. Catherine wanted more. She wanted to find out just what set Sara off. Going into the national crimes database Catherine input Sara's name. Numerous files came up referencing work that Sara had done for each case. Catherine guessed that whatever had happened to Sara would have happened before her work as a CSI so Catherine searched again, limiting the dates to before Sara began working.

One article came up. Catherine quickly searched it but did not find Sara's first name at all in the article. The article described how Laura Sidle stabbed to death husband Michel Sidle. There was one line that mentioned that a child was taken into protective custody. Intrigued, but still ill informed, Catherine needed another source of information.

She had known Grissom for years, but had also known that there was a special bond between him and Sara that most gossiped was sexual. Catherine knew that Grissom had chosen his work over a relationship with Sara, but did not like to push the subject. No surprised to see Grissom in his office, Catherine decided that he may be the one person that would know the mystery that is Sara Sidle.

"Hey Griss, you're here early."

"Well, Cath, these little guys are in training and I need to keep them to a strict schedule." Grissom stated as he held up a jar of cockroaches. Catherine just shook her head in disgust.

"So I hear you're letting you're CSI's take home their work?" Catherine asked, wondering if Grissom would pick up on her sarcasm. Grissom looked at her strangely, so Catherine when on. "Sara? You let her take the kid that was part of her case home."

"Oh, yeah, it'll just be for the weekend, and it seems like it was more of Greg's proactive." Grissom replied finally understanding what Catherine had been referring too. "If the child stays with her, she won't be accumulating any more overtime, hanging around here."

"Did you think about this before letting Sara take the kid home? She called me at the crack of dawn not knowing what to do. I got her settled and met with her earlier today. She has no idea what she's doing, you do know that right?" Catherine asked, curious to see if Grissom had even thought before allowing Sara to take the kid.

"Catherine, I had my objectives as to why I sent Sara to the hospital with the child, as well as allowing Sara to take care of the child over the weekend. Frankly, I am surprised she called you. I told her if she needed any help to call me." Grissom simply stated.

"Are you really surprised she didn't call you? You're not exactly a people-person, Griss, we all know that. I was surprised to get a call, but she explained her reasoning to me. And as for you're objectives, what are you talking about?" Catherine wasn't sure, but thought that whatever Grissom's objectives were had something to do with Sara's past and somehow related to what Catherine was so desperately trying to figure out.

"My objectives are to protect my CSI's at all times. I felt Sara needed to be removed from the situation and sending her to the hospital with the child provided an excellent alternative."

"Remove Sara? She's your best CSI. That just doesn't make sense." Catherine retorted. She was getting nowhere fast.

"And since when do you have such interest in other CSI's lives? You and Sara have never exactly been 'close'. If you're trying to prove she is fallible for some alterative motive, I will have no part of that." Grissom replied obviously annoyed at Catherine for placing him in the position to have to defend his decisions.

"After talking to Sara about Sadie's future, there are some things that I don't understand. Why is Sara so against DCFS group homes? What is it about Sara that you know and the rest of us don't?"

"Catherine, drop it. Now." Grissom replied going back to his work making it obvious to Catherine that he was not going to discuss the subject any further. Infuriated, but even more intrigued, Catherine secretly refused to follow any of Grissom's commands.


	7. Dickinson

To all my reviewers, you're awesome! I truly appreciate it! To Caitlin- I can't believe you read something at your own free will! Such an honor! To Jewleigh- I'll keep the name in mind if I need someone participate in liver killing exercises!

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"If I can stop one heart from breaking,  
I shall not live in vain.  
If I can ease one life the aching,  
Or cool one pain,  
Or help one fainting robin  
Unto his nest again,  
I shall not live in vain."

_Emily Dickinson_

Sara suddenly became aware that she was being watched. Before she opened her eyes, she tried to remember where she was. The familiar cramp in her neck made her realized she had passed out on the couch, again. Not fully aware of what was going on Sara slowly opened her eyes. All Sara saw was two big brown eyes inches from her face before she let out a scream and came to full consciousness. The brown eyes, and body attached to them ran off in a flurry. Sara sat up and tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Is someone in my apartment? Was Sara's first thought. She became worried when she realized her gun was in her locker back at the lab. Looking around her living room for a suitable weapon, she noticed something on the coffee table. Coloring books and crayons. Just some of the many items she had purchased for Sadie when they had gone shopping with Catherine and Lindsey.

Sadie! Sara quickly realized just who those brown eyes that had been watching her were. She had screamed and Sadie had run. Looking over at the door she was happy to see it still closed and locked.

"Hey Sadie, come out, come out where ever you are." Sara heard nothing in return. She figured there couldn't be a whole lot of places in the apartment that Sadie could be hiding so Sara began to look around. A half an hour later, a very frustrated Sara found Sadie hiding under the bed.

"Come on Sadie, let's get out of there." Sara said trying to reason with the little girl. Sadie looked at Sara fearfully. "I'm sorry I screamed, I'm not use to getting woken up." Sara tried again to reason with the little girl, but Sadie wasn't going anywhere.

Sara wondered if it was ok to just leave the little girl under the bed. Is she ok? What happens if she forgets the little girls under there and she climbs into bed? She had forgotten about the little girl when Sara had first woken up from her nap, who's to say it wouldn't happen again? As that thought raced through Sara's mind, she began to feel guilty. How many other people had forgotten this little girl before. Sara didn't know what to do.

"Willows" Catherine answered the phone after a few rings. She had become obsessing with searching the internet.

"Hey Cath, I've got another question."

"Really Sara? Because I thought you might be calling to check on me." Catherine replied sarcastically. Even though no one was in the office, just talking to Sara on the phone when Catherine was trying to search the internet and newspaper articles for crimes that occurred in the Tamales Bay area in the time frame of when Sara would have been a child, some how felt wrong. She closed out the website and turned her full attention to the phone.

"I've got a bit of a problem." Sara tentatively stated into the phone.

"What happened." Catherine knew something must have happened with or to Sadie for Sara to be calling her.

"Well, after you left, Sadie was still asleep so I went out to the living room and started reading some journals. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes and there were two brown ones inches from my face. I screamed. Sadie ran and hid. It took me a half an hour to find her. She's under my bed right now and she won't get out." Sara mulled.

"It took you that long to find her? Your apartment's not all that big!" Catherine choked out over laughter. "Why don't you climb in under the bed with her. Try talking to her there. If not, she'll come out eventually." Catherine was trying to squash the image of seeing Sara climb under a bed, but she just couldn't stop laughing.

"Catherine, I don't make it a habit of climbing under my bed. I don't even know if I'll fit!" Sara argued into the phone. As agitated as she was, she knew if she saw Catherine trying to climb under a bed, she'd be laughing just as much.

"Sorry, sorry, I'll try to behave." Catherine Mumbled. "Just try, cause even if you only get half way under there she'll be more responsive to you."

"Ok" Sara timidly replied.

"Oh, and Sara, one more thing. You might want to bring your phone with you, incase you get stuck and have to call for help. You know the firemen carry cameras too." With that, Catherine dissolved in to fits of hysterical laughter. Sara just hung up.

Sara went back to the bedroom and lay down on her belly.

"Hey kiddo, I'm going to come join you." Sara moved some boxes and she proceeded to shimmy her way under the bed. Making her way to Sadie, she noticed the fear in the little girl's eyes. "It's ok, I'm not mad, you scared me, and I got worried." Sara tried to calm the little girl.

"Are you going to punish me?" Sadie quietly replied. Sara's heart sank. Just what had this little girl endured?

"NO, no, I promise I'm not going to punish you. I just want to get out from under here so I don't get stuck and have to call 911." Sara tried to smile.

"But when I called 911 you came to help me." Sadie simply stated. Sara was shocked at the simplicity and complexity of the statement. How could someone make such an impact on another so quickly? Sara didn't know if she was talking about herself or Sadie.

"Well, here I am now, so why don't we get out from under here and think about making some dinner."

"Ok!" Sadie said excitedly.

Sara shimmied out from under the bed with more difficulty than it had taken to get under there. She sat with her back against the nightstand, as Sadie climbed out like there was nothing to it. Sadie looked at Sara and climbed into her lap and gave her a hug with all of her might. Sara took the little girl in her arms and hugged her back with just as much zeal. Sara and Sadie sat like that for a while till they both hear Sara's stomach growl. They both laughed as Sara said.

"I don't know about you kiddo, but I'm hungry, let's go find some food." Sadie giggled as they made their way out to the kitchen.


	8. Brown

"_Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work"_

_Rita Mae Brown_

Sara and Sadie began to search the kitchen. Even though they had gone grocery shopping with Catherine and Lindsey, neither of them could decide on what to eat. Finally they decided on peanut butter and jelly. As Sara handed Sadie a sandwich, Sara's phone began to ring.

"Sidle"

"Hey Sara, it's Greg, is it still ok if I stop by before shift?"

"Yeah sure, come on by." Sara replied. She had almost forgotten Greg mentioned he wanted to stop by but she was pleased knowing Greg was always true to his word. Quirky and strange but true to his word.

Sadie helped clean up the dishes they had used for the peanut butter and jelly. Sara was amazed at how proficient Sadie was at cleaning. Sara didn't know a whole lot about kids, but she knew 5-year-olds shouldn't know how to clean so well. A knock on the door interrupted Sara's thoughts. Sara walked over to open the door and was surprised to feel Sadie hide behind her legs.

"Hey guys! I brought a pizza! I hope you guys are hungry! And I brought over one of my DVD's, I thought Sadie might enjoy it." Greg came bounding through the door.

"Is it appropriate?" Knowing Greg's taste in music, Sara couldn't help but be slightly scared. "We just had some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but I can grab you a plate." Sara motioned for Greg to set the pizza on the table. She noticed that Sadie had come out from behind her legs to stand idly next to Greg. But it wasn't Greg that Sadie seemed interested in, as much as it was the pizza.

"Hey Sadie, are you still hungry? Do you want some pizza?" Sara asked. The little girl looked at her slightly scared. "It's ok to have some pizza if you're still hungry."

"But… but you already gave me food. It's bad to want more. I don't want to be punished." Sadie spoke just loud enough for Sara and Greg to hear. Sara and Greg looked at each other stunned. The little girl was very much underweight, and they were becoming painfully aware of why.

"Sadie, kiddo, it's ok to be hungry. I've got lots of food here. If you're hungry, let me know and I'll make you something. I promise." Sara crouched down and gave the girl a hug trying to comfort her. "How about I get you a plate so you and Greg can dig into that pizza." The little girl nodded and climbed back into her seat at the table. Greg just stood there, pizza in hand, shocked from hearing the little girl speak, and what she said, but also shocked to see Sara willingly comfort the girl.

As Sara set three plates on the table, Greg helped her dish out a piece of pizza to each of them. Sara and Greg joined Sadie sitting at the table.

"Hey Sadie, I almost forgot, I brought one of my DVD's for you. I thought you might enjoy it." Greg handed the little girl a blue box. "It's 'Finding Nemo' and it's one of my favorites! Maybe you and Sara can watch it later." Sadie looked back at Greg and gave him a smile with a mouth full of pizza.

Sara nervously looked over at the DVD. It looked like a cartoon and harmless, but she was still a little weary. Greg just smiled and nodded at Sara, trying to relax her nerves.

Soon the pizza was long gone, and the conversation was starting to lull. Greg checked his watch and noticed that he still had an hour till he had to be at the lab. Not wanting to start watching the movie and half way through having to leave, Greg suggested they go a park.

"That sounds fun, but where is there one?" Sara asked. She had lived in Vegas for years, but didn't know much of the area other than what she saw at crime scenes.

"There's one on the way to the lab. Nice, it's real big with a playground and soccer fields. I can take my car, and you can take yours and I'll just head out when I need to be back at the lab."

Sara looked at Greg for a moment with slight confusion, "There's a park on the way to the lab? I never noticed." Greg just laughed.

Sara followed Greg to the park. She had been surprised that the little dirt road about two miles from her apartment led into such a nice place. Kids were playing soccer on the numerous fields, and there was a large playground that catered to kids of all ages. Sara saw families with kids in every direction.

More excited than any child there, was Greg. He was practically jumping up in down waiting for Sara to struggle with the booster seat so that he could go 'play'. Sara just laughed and followed Sadie and Greg as they ran to the playground. Sara couldn't remember the last time she had gone down a slide at a playground, but she did it numerous times tiring out at first to please Sadie and Greg, but eventually it was all on her own free will. Sara went over to sit on the swings to sit and relax. A few minuets later a woman about the same age as Sara sat down next to her. The women had on a bright blue sweatshirt that said 'Soccer Mom- And proud of it!' Sara tried not to meet eyes with the woman. She had heard stories about "Soccer Moms" and didn't want to find out. The woman wasn't so observant and willingly introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Debbie! Matty and Johnny are mine." The woman said as if Sara would know whom she was talking about. "You must be new to the area, I haven't see you around, and with both my boys playing on the travel team, we're here practically every day!" Sara just nodded with a forced smile.

Sadie came rushing over dragging Greg. "Did you see me? I made it all the way across the monkey bars!" Sadie beamed at Sara. Sadie, noticing the lady staring at her and Sara, let go of Greg's hand and rushed over to Sara. Sara picked up Sadie and held her protectively in her lap.

"Wow, you daughter looks so much like your wife!" Debbie exclaimed. Both Greg's and Sara's faces mirrored a mixture of shock and horror. Debbie missed this as she got off the swing yelling.

"Matthew Jacob, stop hitting your brother right now! You have till the count of three! 1… I'm not kidding mister…… 2." Debbie looked over at Sara and Greg whom were still stunned, "Well I'll see you guys around, you should think about getting your daughter in to soccer." Debbie ran off shouting fractions to her son in attempts to get him to behave.

"Umm, well, yeah, I should probably be getting to the lab." Greg mumbled afraid to look Sara in the face.

"Yeah, we should probably get home too." Sara mumbled a reply. They walked out to their respective cars and Sara turned to Greg. "This was really fun, well most of it," Greg smirked. "Maybe we could do it again sometime, there's got to be other parks in this town, right?"

Greg thoroughly picked up on Sara's worry, but had also seen how fun the all had, had so he willingly agreed.

"Thanks for the pizza, and the movie, and the park idea. Have fun at work." Sara said.

"Bye Greg!" Sadie waved as Sara was buckling her into the booster seat. Sara was finally starting to get a hang of the booster seat and was silently proud of herself.

As they walked back into the apartment, Sadie asked.

"Can we watch the movie?"

Sara was still a little worried about the movie, but figured she'd give it a chance. "Why don't we put on our pajamas and then watch the movie." Sadie agreed and marveled at the new pajamas that Sara had bought her that morning. Sara put the movie in and sat back down on the couch. Sadie sat down and snuggled right up to Sara. Sara put her arm around Sadie as they began to watch the movie. Less than an hour into the movie, both were asleep cuddled together on the couch.

_Read, review, rant, rave! Thanks!_


	9. Shaw, again

To all who keep reviewing, you totally make my day! Ok, short chapter, but I'm off to rotation. Next chapter is a doozie! Be prepared

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"_If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you might as well make it dance."_

_George Bernard Shaw_

Catherine was still searching the internet when Nick and Warrick came back from their crime scene.

"You guys all done?"

"Yeah, the guy dropped his wallet on the way in. We found him about three blocks away at a pawnshop, trying to get rid of the loot. He confessed. Anything else come in?" Nick said, he was surprised to see Catherine still in office.

"So, what do you guys know about Sara's past." There was no point in dancing around the subject. Catherine wanted to know, and she wanted know now.

"Why you so interested in Sara? What's got your panties in a bunch?" Warrick said. He had been shocked to hear that Catherine had willingly spent time with her, now she wanted to know about Sara's past. Something was up.

"Yeah, you'd want to know about her panties, wouldn't you?" Nick snorted. Both Catherine and Warrick glared at him, both of their faces turning red with embarrassment.

"Anyways" Catherine commented trying to forget what Nick had just said, "When Sara and I were talking about the case, she said something that made me curious. She said something of the 'awfulness' of group homes. It was strange and out of context for Sara. She had this look on her face like she knew first hand what a group home was like." Catherine stated. Nick and Warrick just nodded, they all had wondered what the mystery that was Sara was. Catherine continued, "I found one article on the National Crime Database about a Laura Sidle stabbing to death Michel Sidle and that a unnamed child was taken in to protective services. But that was all I could find. I asked Griss, and he flew off the handle bars, so there's got to be something we don't know. I've been searching the internet trying to get something."

"You know, Sara will kill you if she finds out you're trying to snoop around in her personal business." Nick chastised.

"Yeah, but I don't know, this kid has seemed to bring about something in Sara. So maybe she won't kill me. Aren't you guys the least bit interested?" Catherine questioned knowing full well that she could get the guys to do almost anything for her.

"Yeah, a bit, but I don't know it kind of seems wrong." Warrick added.

"Ok, well than you guys can go and sit in the break room for the next four hours till shift is over. There's been nothing coming in, so you can play the waiting game, or you can get on a computer and help me. At least it would be something to pass the time." Catherine said. Reluctantly both men agreed. Catherine and Warrick went to work on the internet while Nick went to the basement of the lab where the archaic documents were stored. Two hours later Nick came running into Catherine's office.

"I think I found something!" Nick laid the sheet of paper he had printed off on the disk. "Tamales Bay Daily- Murder at Local B&B" The article, which was about twenty two years old, went on to fill in the details of what little information Catherine had found earlier. Accompanied with the article was a picture of police rushing a young girl to safety. There was no question the young girl was Sara. The dark hair, large eyes, and gap in her teeth were an exact match. The article didn't mention the child's name but stated that was now in the care of DCFS and would most likely be sent to a group home.

"Where did you find this?" Catherine asked shocked from the finding, but also shocked from the article.

"It was on one of the old micro-fish, or phish or whatever it's called." Nick solemnly stated. He was disturbed by what he found, but also by the realization that he had gone behind his friend's back. They had always been good friends, but he couldn't understand how Sara had not said anything to him. He knew she had experienced some rough cases, but they had always talked it out, how had he not picked up on something so life-defining from Sara.

"So she couldn't have been more than 12 or 13 at the time." Warrick quietly said breaking the silence that had fallen over the group. Catherine, instantly thinking of Lindsey just said.

"Wow" Warrick and Nick agreed. This enlightenment explained why Sara reacted so strongly to some cases. It, in a way to Catherine, explained what may have been Grissom's objectives for sending Sara to the hospital, rather than have her process the crime scene.

"What do we do now?" Nick asked.

"We'll have to talk to her eventually. Let her know that we know." Warrick added.

"Somehow, I think, even though it sounds far fetch, the more time Sadie spends at Sara's, the more open Sara will be with us. The kid had an affect on her. I agree with Grissom that the kid might be good for Sara. We'll just have to wait and see what happens." Catherine added. They each gathered their things and went their separate ways to process their new found knowledge.

_Read, review, rant, rave! THANKS!_


	10. Glenconner

"Bitter are the tears of a child: Sweeten them.  
Deep are the thoughts of a child: Quiet them.  
Sharp is the grief of a child: Take it from him.  
Soft is the heart of a child: Do not harden it."

_Pamela Glenconner_

Sara woke up to screaming. And for the first time, it wasn't her own. Getting accustomed to the dark, she realized that her and Sadie had fallen asleep on the couch while watching Greg's movie. Sadie was screaming.

"Hey kiddo, wake up it's just a bad dream." Sara calmly said as she gently shook Sadie. Sadie began to come to full consciousness and began to sob. "Hun, it's ok. It's ok." Sara murmured as she cradled the sobbing child. After a while Sadie's sobs began to quiet. Sara knew what it was like to wake up screaming. She had become a pro at working on three hours of sleep. Once she woke up screaming, she wasn't able to go back to sleep. She still got nightmares, more often when the cases involved abuse, but sometimes just randomly. Nightmares so vivid and real that it chilled her. Nightmares that she had never told anyone about.

"You know, it'll make you feel better if you talk about your dream." Sara whispered to the child. Sadie just shook her head. "I promise I listen." Sadie looked at Sara for a moment and asked.

"Do you have bad dreams too?" Sara nodded. "Who do you talk to?" The question was innocent enough, but Sara didn't want to answer 'no one' which was the truth. Quickly she replied.

"People." It was a non-answer but Sadie accepted it. "So tell me about your dream." Sara pressed on.

"It wasn't a dream, it was real." Sadie replied.

"I know sometimes dreams seem real, but it wasn't." Sara said comforting.

"It was real, it was the night you helped me." Sara swallowed Sadie's reply. She knew the child had seen something, had been smart enough to call 911, and had hid. But just how much had Sadie scene?

"Tell me everything." Sara simply stated as she pulled Sadie into her lap. The little girl looked at her with her big brown eyes and began.

"I was bad. Momma gave me an apple for lunch and I ate it. I was still hungry so I asked for more. She said that I was bad for wanting more than she had given me so she sent me to my room and told me I wasn't allowed to come down for dinner. I went up to my room and laid down because my belly hurt. I fell asleep. When I woke up, my belly hurt more and it was dark out. I snuck down to the kitchen and took some bread. Momma caught me and started to yell. She said I needed to be punished, she said I couldn't have any food tomorrow and took my piece of bread. She sent me to my room again. My belly still hurt so I laid down and fell asleep again. I woke up and hear Momma and Daddy screaming. And then I heard a thud. I snuck downstairs again, but I was careful this time, Momma didn't see me. The kitchen smelled funny. And there was blood everywhere. Daddy was laying on the ground and Momma was stabbing him. She didn't see me so I took the phone and ran upstairs. I called 911 and then I climbed into the big box. I was there for a long time. And then you found me." New tears were beginning to fall down Sadie's cheeks. Sara held the girl close to her as tears of her own fell.

"It's ok, I'm here now. You're ok." Sara said trying to comfort Sadie as well as herself.

"I'm scared." Sadie's voice quivered.

"I know, trust me, I know." Sara whispered.

"How do you know?" Sadie asked. Sara thought for a moment. She had never told anyone, well, except for Grissom, but that was more of a forced response to stress, now she was about to tell the 5-year-old something that no one else knew. It was what woke her up at night with her own screams and her own nightmares.

"Well, kiddo," Sara began as she cradled Sadie closer. "I grew up in a Bed and Breakfast, like you. My mom and dad fought all the time. Sometimes my dad would hurt my mom. Sometimes they would hurt me." Sara paused to try to gage Sadie's reaction. Sadie sat cradled in Sara's lap listening attentively. "I read a lot. I liked books better than people. Books did yell at you or hit you. I remember one night when I was 13. I was reading The Adventures of Sherlock Homes under my covers with a flashlight. Mom and dad were fighting again. This time they were getting really, really loud. I snuck downstairs to get more batteries for my flashlight and then I saw them. My mom had grabbed a knife from the kitchen and was swinging it around as she screamed. Dad was screaming back at her. Then she just did it. She sunk the knife into his chest and pulled it back out. Dad staggered around and fell to the floor. She continued to stab him over and over again. I got scared and ran to my room. I called the police and hid in my closet. The police came and took my mom away. The whole house smelled of copper and iron. The police took me outside where there were reporters taking pictures. The police tried to hid me as they took me to a group home where I lived till I went to college." Sara's tears were steadily running down her cheeks. She worried that maybe she had said too much to the little girl. The little girl held her with all her might and the two cried into each other's arms. After a long they both began to calm down. Sadie whispered.

"We're two as one." Sara was amazed at the perception the little girl had.

"Yes, yes we are." Sara smiled.

"Can I stay with you forever?" Sadie asked. Sara looked into the little girl's eyes, and Sara's heart melted. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to raise a child, nonetheless, one who had seen so much hatred and violence already in her young life. But she felt she had to protect the little girl. She couldn't let the little girl go through the same pain and anguish of a group home, like Sara had. She didn't know what to do.

"Let's talk about it in the morning, ok?" Sara said the only thing she could think of. "How about we get off the uncomfortable couch and go sleep in the bed? Does that sound better?" Sara said trying to change the subject. Sadie nodded and let Sara carry her into the bedroom. Sara tucked Sadie in and climbed into the other side of the bed. As Sara was about to turn out the light when Sadie asked.

"Can you read me a story?" Sara panicked. She didn't have any books suitable for a child. And she hadn't purchased any when they had gone shopping earlier. But then Sara began to think, she had kept all her books from college and grad school and there had been this one book she had to read for psychology. She never understood how The Little Prince could be considered a children's book. Yeah, it had pictures and was a fictional story but Sara saw it as the incomprehensible ranting of a drug endued psychosis. The author had clearly been under the influence of at least one illegal drug, yet the book was doted upon as a celebrated children's book. She remembered studying the different insights the book gave into human nature. Sometimes strange, but surprisingly true in most parts.

Sara climbed out of bed and searched her bookcase. A few minuets later she returned with book in hand. As she began to read, she watched Sadie's eyes get heavy, and eventually close. As Sara continued to read, she began to see how the book had a sweet sentiment and could be a book written for the enjoyment of a child.

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Endnote- The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exuprey is one of the most amazing books ever written. Scholarly people believe it can be read on three levels. First as a children's book. Second as a drug-induced hallucination that the author experienced as a pilot in WWII. And the third as an adult's recollection into the loss of innocence. Read it for yourself and decide (it's not very long.) As for this story, read, review, rant and rave as always, I really appreciate it!


	11. Rowling

"_It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."_

_J.K. Rowling_

Catherine woke up feeling slightly guilty. She was happy to finally have a clue as to who and why Sara was Sara, but couldn't escape the guilt of going behind Sara's back to find out the story. She was in the middle of making breakfast when Lindsey stumbled down the stairs.

"Morning Sweetie!" Catherine cooed.

"Morning," Lindsey mumbled still half asleep. Catherine handed her a stack of pancakes and they sat down at the table. As they began to eat, Lindsey perked up. She looked up at her mom and asked.

"Do you think we can hang out with Sara and Sadie again?" Catherine was shocked.

"Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?" Catherine mocked. Lindsey laughed. "Well we could do that if you really want to hang out with 'two boring adults and a 5-year-old,'" Catherine could help but joining in Lindsey's laughter. "But we've got to call Sara first and see if it's ok with her. I know Nick and Warrick wanted to meet Sadie too, so if you don't mind more 'boring adults' maybe they could come too." Lindsey laughed. Catherine was happy to see Lindsey so sociable. She had been withdrawn and down right moody the last few months, Catherine hope that this sudden change was for good. She had missed spending time with Lindsey, and working the swing shift was making more and more difficult for her to spend time with her daughter.

Sara began making omelets for breakfast. It had been one of the few things Sara could actually cook successfully. Her thoughts roamed to last night. After Sadie's confession, and her own, Sara didn't know what to do. The little girl had asked to stay with Sara 'forever.' Sara had never felt so wanted but so utterly scared in her life. If she kept Sadie, it would change everything. But in the back of her head, she somehow wasn't afraid of changing. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She looked out the peephole and saw nothing but spiky hair. She knew it was none other than Greg. She opened the door and welcomed her in.

"Morning Sara!" Greg smiled as he walked through he door. "Good morning Miss. Sadie, did you like the movie?" Greg bowed as he came upon Sadie causing the little girl to giggle.

"Well, since you're here, would you like an omelet too?" Sara asked Greg, not waiting for him to answer before starting on a third omelet.

"I'd love one." Greg smiled. Sara finished off the omelets and brought them to the table.

"Hey Sara, do you have any ketchup?" Greg asked Sara.

"Sure, what for?" Sara asked confused.

"For my omelet, of course!" Greg stated proudly. Sara scrunched up her nose and admitted a gagging sound as she got up and got the ketchup out of the fridge. She watch Greg drown the omelet in ketchup. Still with her nose scrunched up she just shook her head. Sadie watched Greg with curiosity. Greg looked over at the little girl and asked.

"So Sadie, do you want to be brave and try this?" Sadie looked at him for a second and nodded her head. Sara was shocked, but not as shocked as when she saw Sadie willingly eat the piece of omelet dripping in ketchup, and then go for another. Greg added a large dollop of ketchup to Sadie's plate and they finished their omelets eagerly.

"Hey Greg, do you mind watching Sadie for a bit while I take a shower?" Sara asked as she began to clear the table.

"Sure, not problem," Greg said as he turned to Sadie, "Hey Sadie, the Aniamaniac's is almost on! They're my favorite!" Greg said as he raced over to the couch followed by Sadie. Sara laughed.

"Greg, are you telling me you still watch Saturday morning cartoons?" Sara asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"But of course!" Greg squealed.

"Aren't you a little old?" Sara asked as she walked towards the bathroom.

"Conjunction Junction, what's your function?" Greg sang out in reply.

Catherine decided to call Sara and invite her and Sadie over. Maybe she'd ask Sara about her past. Maybe. Didn't know if Sara would have gone out to breakfast so she decided to call her cell phone.

While watching cartoons, Greg heard Sara's cell phone ring. Looking down at the Caller ID, he saw 'Willows.' He wanted to see if he could mess around with Catherine and decided to be less than himself.

Catherine heard the phone ring on the other line, and a man's voice answer.

"Latex, Leather, and Lace, What ever your taste!" Catherine coughed, and quickly hung up. She swore she had called Sara's cell phone yesterday at the same number and got Sara. She decided to try Sara's home phone.

Greg couldn't contain his laughter. Of all people, he never would have thought Catherine to get flustered by that. He heard Sara's home phone begin to ring and decided he answer it properly this time.

"Hello," Greg replied, knowing it was a flustered Catherine.

"Um.. Hi, is this Sara's number?" Catherine swore it was the same voice that had answered Sara's cell phone.

"Yeah, Cath, it is, this is Greg, Sara's in the shower." Greg replied trying to keep his laughter under control.

"OK, and why are you at her place. Hey, did you just answer her cell phone?" Catherine asked and heard Greg start to laugh hysterically at the other end. Catherine just grunted into the phone. "So I was calling to see if Sara and Sadie wanted to do something with Lindsey and I later today. I guess we could invite you too if you can behave yourself."

"I think I can. On one condition, we can't go anywhere where we may run into Debbie, the soccer mom again. I don't think Sara or I could handle it again."

"Huh?" Catherine questioned. Greg went on to tell him what happened at the park yesterday. Catherine laughed.

"I can't stand them either! They're always talking about whose turn it is to bring the orange slices and the PTA. She really thought that you two were married? Oh man, I would have loved to see the look on Sara's face!" Catherine laughed.

"Yeah it was real funny." Greg said monotone.

Sara had gotten out of the shower and dressed. She looked at Greg and Sadie on the couch and smiled. She noticed Greg talking and laughing on the phone.

"Hey Sara, Catherine's on the phone, she wants to know if we want to go back to the park and meet up with Debbie." Greg tried to say seriously, but ended up laughing. Sara grabbed the phone from him before he could do anymore damage.

"Hey Cath, what's up?"

"Man, Sara, I would have paid to see your face when you were talking to that soccer mom." Catherine laughed.

"Yeah, it was real funny," Sara, said sardonically.

"So anyways, Lindsey was wondering if you and Sadie wanted to do something today. I was thinking since the parks apparently out, would you guys like to come over and go swimming? I guess you could bring Greg along if he behaves himself. Nicky and Warrick are interested in meeting Sadie. I'll give them a call too." Catherine laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds great. When do you want us there?" Sara asked.

"How about around two?" Catherine suggested. She said goodbye to Sara and Greg and proceeded to call Nick and Warrick.

Both Nick and Warrick willingly agreed to come over. They were intrigued by meeting the little girl, and a little startled to hear Catherine tell them that Greg had answered Sara's phone. Everyone at the lab knew Greg has had a crush on Sara since she arrived, but now it seemed they may be more than just coworkers. They were all worried about discussing with Sara the information that they had discovered the night before, and subsequently decided not to mention it.


	12. Disraeli

My reviewers are the coolest people in the world! You guys are awesome and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Someone mentioned I should have a disclaimer so here it is.

DISCLAIMER- I own them. And anything else that has to do with CSI. But then I wake up in my shoddy apartment shared with obnoxious roommates and remember I am still a lowly college student eating ramen, and that it was all a dream. Oh well. But George Eads had appeared in my dreams before, and he was glorious!

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"_Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth."_

_Benjamin Disraeli_

"Can I watch Nemo?" Sadie asked.

"Again?" Sara questioned. "Sure, I guess, hey Greg could you put the movie in for her? I'm going to make some coffee, do you want some?"

"I guess, you wouldn't happen to have any of the blue Hawaiian I gave you for Christmas?" Greg asked.

"Come on, Greg, that was months ago! I polished that stuff of by mid-February at the most. So it's French Vanilla or Folgers, your choice."

"Well if you finished it off in February, you should have told me, I would have gotten you some for Valentine's Day." Greg smirked as he turned to look as Sara and batted his eyes. Sara just laughed. "I'll take French Vanilla."

Sara finished up the coffee and brought two mugs over to the kitchen table. Far enough away that they could talk, but close enough to keep and eye on Sadie. Sara motioned for Greg to join her. Greg looked at her and whined.

"But I want to watch the movie!"

"Greg, you own the movie. I'm sure you've already seen it a hundred times, and I'm sure you'll be able to watch it a hundred more."

"But Sara, I've only watched it like fifty times. And Crush is so cool."

"Who?" Sara asked realizing she had missed a large part of the movie last night. With a little more serious tone, she added, "Come on, Greg." Greg stood up and joined her at the table grumbling.

"So…" Sara started off.

"So…" Greg mocked her.

"So how was work?"

"It was ok," Greg began as he told her about his case and working with Sophia, but made sure to add, "It wasn't nearly as good as working with you, but luckily we got an easy case." And Greg chatted on about work. He asked Sara how her night had been.

He noticed Sara pause and take a deep breath before she began. "We watched some of the movie before falling asleep on the couch."

"Ahhhh, isn't that sweet?" Greg smiled at Sara but the smile wasn't returned. He could tell Sara was trying to figure out how to tell him something, something big. Finally she spoke.

"She woke up screaming. I woke up, and she just started sobbing. I told her it was just a dream, but she said it wasn't and told me about what had happened Thursday night. It's bad enough she saw what her mother did, but she told me about being punished by having food withheld. Who would do that to a child?" Greg noticed Sara become more and more agitated, and scooted closer to her. "And then we talked more," Greg could see the tears Sara was fighting. He knew Sara was strong. Stronger than any of them, but there was something more that was bearing on her. "And then she asked if she could stay with me forever." Greg sat there stunned. He didn't know what to say, or what to do. He wanted to go over and give Sara a bear hug, but knew Sara was not a touchy-feely person. Then again, she wasn't caring for a 5-year-old, dealing with booster seats and soccer mom's 48 hours ago.

"Are you considering it?" Greg tentatively asked.

"I…I… Don't know. She's too young to survive at a group home. And she may be too old for adoption. They can't send her to a group home. It's awful. I don't know what to do." Sara said trying to hold back tears.

"Sara, how do you know about group homes?" Greg asked. He could tell there was something personal she wasn't sharing, but didn't want to push it.

"I know, first hand." Was all Sara could chock out trying to hold back emotion. That was it, Greg didn't care if she was or wasn't a touchy-feely person, Greg went over to Sara and took her in his arms and just held her. He felt Sara relax into his arms as his shoulder began to feel dampness from her tears. They stood like that for a long time. Quietly, Greg whispered into her ear.

"I know you don't like people knowing your personal business, and I'm not going to ask you any questions. You can tell me if you want, you don't have to, but I'm here if you ever need me. Or if Sadie needs me, I'm here for both of you." Greg felt Sara tighten her grip around him and nod into his shoulder.

After Sara had calmed down, Greg suggested they join Sadie watching the movie. As Sara and Greg sat down on the couch, Sadie climbed into Sara's lap and asked.

"Now you're here, can we watch the movie from the beginning." Sara, finding this strange, but happy for a diversion, agreed. As the movie began, Sara found herself enjoying it very much. But there was also something else she enjoyed. Sadie sitting in her lap and Greg napping on Sara's shoulder, it just felt right. In the back of her mind, she also knew what was right to do.

_Read, review, rant, rave!_


	13. Williamson

All I can say is that my reviewers are totally awesome! You rock my world! I hope you keep enjoying what I'm writing! Oh and if anyone wants to send me some warm weather, that'd also be appreciated! It's April 23, 2005 and it's snowing here!

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"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

_Marianne Williamson_

"So Sara, did you like the movie?" Greg asked.

"Yeah it was funny, but I was a little distracted by somebody's snoring." Sara laughed.

"Sadie, you shouldn't snore so loud!" Greg mocked at Sadie. The little girl giggled and said.

"No me, you silly!" They all laughed. Greg had slept through most the movie since he had come over right after getting out of work.

"How about we go get our bathing suits on and head over to Catherine's." Sara suggested. Sadie jumped off her lap and ran to get her bathing suit. "Hey Greg, thanks, for everything." Sara smiled at Greg.

"Hakuna Matata," Greg said. Sara looked at him funny. "It means no worries, it's from 'The Lion King' maybe I'll bring it over next time." Sara just smiled and headed to the bedroom to get her bathing suit. "Hey Sara," Greg yelled out.

"Yeah Greg."

"Need help picking out a bikini? I prefer red." Greg stated with a smirk. Sara walked off rolling her eyes.

As they arrived at Catherine's a very excited Lindsey met them at the door. Sadie was excited to see her new friend and they went running off to the backyard. Catherine greeted them as they walked in.

"So I don't know what you've done, but keep on doing it. Lindsey has been in a great mood since we went shopping, and I'm amazed!" The all laughed as they joined Lindsey and Sadie who were already in the backyard.

"Mom, can we go swimming?" Lindsey asked.

"Sure if it's ok with Sara." Catherine replied.

"Yeah no problem," Sara turned to Sadie, "Kiddo, do you know how to swim?" Sadie looked at Sara and then at the ground ashamed, as she shook her head no.

"That's ok Sadie, I'll teach you!" Lindsey piped up. Sadie looked up with a huge smile on her face. The two girls got into the pool as the adults began to talk.

"So I invited Nick and Warrick over, they should be here soon." As Catherine spoke they hear another car pull into the driveway. A few minuets later Nick and Warrick who were obviously scanning the property for the infamous little girl joined them. Spotting her in the pool with Lindsey, they both were taken by how accurately Catherine had described the girl as looking like Sara.

"Ahh, no one invited Grissom?" Greg asked, almost hoping that it was true.

"Well I was, but he's deep into some training program with his cockroaches, and I figured he didn't want to be disturbed. Plus, he's not real pleased with me at the moment." Catherine said, looking at Nick and Warrick and regretting her last comment.

"What did ya do to piss him off this time?" Greg asked.

"Nothing real important. He's just Grissom, you know." Catherine quickly added, hoping that Sara wouldn't think anything of it.

"Hey Sadie, come here, I want you to meet two of my friends." Sara yelled over to the girls splashing in the pool. Sadie climbed out, followed by Lindsey, but rushed over to Sara's side when noticing the strangers that had just arrived. "Sadie, this is my friend Nick, and this is my friend Warrick. They both work in the lab with me." Sara pointed out, but Sadie was reluctant to move from Sara's side.

"Hi Sadie I'm Nick," Nick said as he bent down to Sadie's level. "Are you having fun at Sara's?" Sadie looked at the man for a moment and replied.

"Yeah, but Greg snores." Sara's and Greg's faces tuned bright red as the rest of the people laughed. Everyone knew that Sara and Greg were close friends, but maybe the child had gotten a better understanding of that than any of them. Greg quickly mumbled something about falling asleep on the couch while watching a movie.

"You know what kid? I think I'm going to like you." Warrick added, "Do you have any more stories?" Sadie looked at him funny. And turned to Sara and asked.

"Can I go back in the pool?"

"Sure, go have fun," Sara said as she sent Sadie on her way.

"Wow, Cath, you weren't kidding. The little girl looks just like Sara." Warrick said. Catherine nodded, and Sara smiled.

"Yeah, but with a sense of humor." Nick added receiving a glare from Sara.

"Apparently so much so that 'Debbie' thought Greggo and Sara were married, and Sadie was their daughter." Catherine laughed, as Greg and Sara both turned red again. Nick and Warrick sat there shocked as Catherine explained to them about the run in with the soccer mom. They all laughed.

"So Sara, we've heard Catherine's version, but how exactly did you end up taking Sadie home?" Nick asked. Sara told them about the case and getting sent to the hospital with the little girl. And waiting around forever. And how it was Greg's suggestion to take the girl, and how Sara had called Catherine in a panic. "Geeze, Sara, I know you're committed to your work, but this is a huge step." Nick added. "No offence, but we never really saw you as the maternal type." Nick replied, making sure he was far enough away from Sara that he wouldn't get hit.

"I never really have seen myself as maternal either." Sara replied. "But I had the weekend off, and I wanted to help. I just feel awful, she's never going to survive if she gets sent to a group home." Sara added. Greg put his hand on Sara's knee for support, as Catherine, Nick, and Warrick looked anywhere but at Sara, trying to hide their guilt. "Last night she told me what happened the night of the murder." Sara slowly said. Everyone looked straight at Sara. Greg gave her knee another squeeze in support. "When I finally got her calmed down, she asked me if she could stay with me 'forever'." Catherine, Nick, and Warrick looked at Sara in shock.

"What are you going to do?" Catherine asked slowly.

"I… I…" Sara tried to come up with something, anything to say, now it was her turn to look anywhere but at her friends, but was luckily was interrupted by Sadie yelling.

"Sara come swim!"

"But of course!" Sara jumped up and stripped down to her bathing suit before jumping into the pool. Everyone noticed Sara's avoidance of the question, but didn't comment on it. Greg couldn't hide his stare at Sara, as she was clad only in a bathing suit splashing around with the kids. Hardly a red bikini, but just as alluring.

"So Greggo, you like seeing Sara in a bathing suit?" Nick taunted.

"Not as much as Warrick like seeing Catherine in her birthday suit!" Greg replied before running off to join the girls in the pool. Catherine and Warrick sat there stunned with bright red faces. Nick was holding his stomach he was laughing so hard.

"What did you say?" Sara asked as Greg surfaced.

"What makes you think I said something?" Greg asked innocently. Sara just looked over to see the deep shades of red on Catherine's and Warrick's faces, and Nick holding himself as he laughed. "Let's just say, it's probably a good thing we aren't on the same shift anymore." Greg quipped. Sara just shook her head.


	14. LeShan

"Becoming responsible adults is no longer a matter of whether children hang up there pajamas or put dirty towels in the hamper, but whether they care about themselves and others -- and whether they see everyday chores as related to how we treat this planet."

_Eda LeShan_

After everyone had left to prepare for work Lindsey helped her mother clean up.

"You know, Linds, you've had a different attitude lately." Catherine cautiously began. "You've really helped out with Sadie the last few days and I'm really proud of you."

"She's fun, and she doesn't care if I'm wearing makeup, or if I have a boyfriend or all the other stuff that all my other friends talk about. Yeah, she's 5, but she's fun to be around and just play with." Lindsey said. Lindsey couldn't remember the last time her mom told her she was proud of Lindsey. It made Lindsey feel good.

"You have a boyfriend!" Catherine asked shocked.

"Mom, pul-eese! Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you his name cause you'd have him arrested or something." Lindsey whined.

"Well, it's my job to look out for you. I know things have been rough for a while, but I want you to know I love you very much. No matter how much trouble you seem to get into." Catherine said sincerely.

"Yeah, I guess it really wasn't to smart to try to hitchhike." Lindsey admitted quietly. "But did you really have to take me to the morgue? Like, gross."

"I was scared. I wanted you to know what could happen. I see to much of it in my job, and I never want that to happen to you." Catherine said.

"Hey mom, about your job…" Lindsey slowly began. "Do you think I could maybe start staying at home by myself instead of going over to auntie's since you're not getting home as late as you use to?"

"Well, Lindsey, you are kind of young."

"Mom, I'm going to be fourteen in two weeks, and in the fall I'm going to be in high school." Lindsey whined.

"I know, don't remind me!" Catherine quipped, Lindsey laughed. "But really Lindsey, do you think you can be responsible enough to stay at home by yourself? Your attitude has changed a lot over the last few days, and I'm proud of you, but staying home alone is a big deal." Catherine wasn't sure weather she was comfortable of the thought of Lindsey alone in their house.

"I can handle it Mom, trust me." Lindsey said proudly.

"I'm trying to baby." Catherine responded.

"Well maybe after you realize how responsible I am staying home alone, I could maybe baby-sit for Sadie. You know, they sometimes offer a baby-sitting course at school, I could take that and know what to do." Lindsey said hopefully.

"Well, after we establish that you're responsible enough to stay at home alone, maybe you could start baby-sitting, but Sadie's only going to be with Sara till the end of the weekend." Catherine tried to explain.

"Why?" Lindsey looked at her mom confused.

"Sadie was part of a case that Sara was working on. They didn't have anywhere for her to go for the weekend, so Sara took her. Sadie's going to probably go to a group home Tuesday morning." Catherine replied tentatively.

"Well, if Sara should adopt her, she already loves her." Lindsey responded.

"How do you know this?" Catherine asked. She had seen how Sara had become attached and protective of Sadie, but she wasn't sure about if she loved Sadie.

"Sara looks at Sadie the same way you look at me. That type of love. Not the type of love, like, when you look at Warrick." Lindsey simply explained.

"Lindsey!" Catherine's face was red. First her friends, now her daughter.

"Mom, please, I saw you guys kissing the other night when he dropped you off. You know, the night auntie was staying here. My room faces the driveway, duh." Lindsey teased.

"You shouldn't have been up so late, young lady!" Catherine couldn't believe she had been caught. They thought they were being careful.

"Whatever mom, you were still kissing him." Lindsey continued her taunt. Knowing she couldn't win this conversation, Catherine tried to change the subject.

"You know, raising a child is hard. I know one thirteen year old blond that is particularly hard." Catherine stated. "I don't know if Sara could handle Sadie on her own."

"But we could help. And I could baby-sit. And Greg, and Nick, and Warrick could help too." Lindsey had become set on the idea that Sadie was going to stay right where she is. Catherine was amazed with Lindsey's perceptiveness.

"Well, I'll talk to Sara later, ok?" Catherine said. She was proud of her daughter wanting to help someone in need, and was happy being able to have a conversation without yelling at each other, for once. "Since you want to be responsible, how about we do a test run tonight. But there are some ground rules."

"You're really going to let me stay by myself!" Lindsey said excited.

"Yes, but there are rules. No buddies, no boys, and no booze. Got it! And I'm going to be calling to check on you." Catherine stated.

"Ok mom, I promise, you'll be proud of me." Lindsey said willingly.

"Baby, I'm already proud of you, I just worry because I'm your mom. It's what I do."

"Yeah, that and kiss Warrick." Lindsey laughed as Catherine tried to glare at her as she ran into the house. Catherine knew she was going to worry with Lindsey staying home alone, but she wanted to encourage the sudden positive attitude change.

_Read, review, rant, rave! Thanks!_


	15. Holocaust Museum

"Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander."

_The Holocaust Museum, Washington, DC_

"Hey Cath, nice of you to make it to work." Nick joked as Catherine walked into the break room.

"I'm not late." Catherine said defiantly.

"Yeah, but your not exactly early either." Nick retorted.

"We'll as of right now, that doesn't matter too much. Other than a few slow day shifters working on their own cases, there isn't anything for us to do tonight." Catherine replied.

"You ok, Cath, you look nervous." Warrick joined the conversation.

"Yeah, Lindsey and I had a nice chat after all you guys had left. She wants to be more responsible, and start by staying home alone. I said we could do a trial run tonight, since she doesn't have school in the morning, but I'm nervous. My baby's growing up." Catherine said, she leaned over to Warrick's ear and whispered. "And she caught us too."

"Hold up, no telling secrets. At least tell me!" Nick whined. Catherine and Warrick laughed.

"Nicky, you sure you want to know?" Catherine said seductively. Nick wasn't sure if Catherine was kidding or being serious, so he decided to drop it. "So what's with Lindsey wanting to be more responsible? That's a bit of a sudden change of heart."

"I know, that's what I said." Catherine responded.

"Well her birthday is coming up soon, and isn't she starting high school in the fall?" Warrick asked.

"Don't remind me!" Catherine said as she ran her hand through her hair. "I think Sara bringing Sadie around has had some catalyst in all this. You know earlier, when I told Lindsey that Sadie was only at Sara's for the weekend, Lindsey said that Sara already loved Sadie and that she should adopt her."

"She's becoming mature for a thirteen, almost fourteen year old." Warrick replied.

"Well, some thirteen year olds have to become responsible." Nick said and swallowed. They all knew what he was making reference too. "Honestly guys, I felt bad today, I mean, we know something about Sara's past, but not because she told us. Because we snooped. We've got to talk to her. And I agree with Lindsey. Sadie is good for Sara. Did you see how much Sara was smiling and laughing? That doesn't happen all too often." Nick added.

"What do you think we should do?" Warrick asked.

"I don't know, but I'll talk to her. If she gets pissed at me, she'll just avoid me, and it's not like there's been a lack of that the last few months, minus this weekend. But, I think Sadie should stay with Sara. She's going to need our help though." Catherine replied.

"Yeah, but Cath, it's nice to see you guys get along. A pissed Sara is no fun, no matter who'd doing the aggravating." As Nick spoke, Grissom joined them in the break room. They all looked at Catherine and then to Grissom. Of all people, they knew Sara's sometimes foul moods were often spawned from the man standing in front of them.

"Don't let me interrupt you guys. But what's the excitement of the night?" Grissom had noticed Catherine, Nick, and Warrick deep in conversation as he passed the break room, and thought that it would be a good time to get some coffee.

"Well Griss," Warrick started, "We got to meet Sadie today."

"Sadie?" Grissom asked, trying to remember where he had heard that name.

"You know, the little girl Sara brought home." Nick added.

"Ahhh yes, and how are they doing? I should give her a call and see how things are going." Grissom made a mental note.

"Yeah, things seem to be going well. Sara said that Sadie told her what happened the other night, but that Sadie also asked to stay with Sara, 'forever'." Catherine said.

"Really? And when did you all have this conversation?" Grissom asked.

"We went over to Catherine's for a swim earlier. Sara brought Sadie over with Greg. Man, that little girl looks exactly like Sara." Nick replied.

"Sorry I didn't invite you Griss, but you've been a little busy with your cockroaches." Catherine added, noticing a slight frown on Grissom's face. "That's what we were talking about earlier, with Sara's past, who better to take care of the girl and keep her out of the system." Catherine said, and quickly closed her mouth realizing she had just incriminated herself.

"Catherine, you pursued something I told you to stop. If you wanted to know Sara's history, you should have asked Sara. This is very unprofessional of you." Grissom stated.

"Yeah Griss, almost as unprofessional as showing up late to a crime scene because you had to feed your cockroaches." Catherine retorted. Grissom took his coffee and stormed out of the break room. Catherine looked at Nick and Warrick and shrugged.

Once Grissom had gotten to his office and had calmed down, he decided to call Sara for himself and see how things were going.

"Sidle." Sara said picking up the phone.

"Hey Sara, it's Grissom, I just wanted to see how things were going." Grissom began. "Are you doing ok with the little girl? Catherine told me that she's been having nightmares."

"Hey Griss, things are going well. Last night she did have a nightmare, but I got her through it. She's doing well now." Sara replied.

"Sara, I think she is good for you, and you are good for her. Remember if you need anything, just give me a call." Grissom stated.

"Thanks Griss, but when it comes to booster seats, I think Catherine's the one to talk to." Sara laughed.

"Huh?" Grissom was confused.

"It's a long story, but anyways, I've got to go, the water's starting to boil over. I'll see you Monday night." Sara said as she hung up the phone.


	16. Angelou

Every day, well ok, every hour, I check my email and I receive so many awesome positive reviews. Thank you so much! Oh, and about the quotes, lately I've been getting them off of other than that I just look in search engines under 'quotes and lyrics'. I hope you all enjoy, it's about half way done.

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"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."

_Maya Angelou_

After leaving Catherine's Greg came back to Sara's apartment and stayed for dinner. Sadie and Greg were attempting to help Sara make spaghetti, but Sara's small kitchen provided a large obstacle. Finally Sadie and Greg gave up and went back into the living room to color. Sara was trying to prepare a pot of water for the spaghetti noodles, when the phone rang. Catching it before Greg did, she answered. It was Grissom calling to check up on her. It was considerate of him, but she wondered if it had anything to do with the increased amount of time she was spending with Catherine. Grissom had never discouraged a friendship between her and Catherine, but he had also not encouraged it either. Then again, Grissom and friendship weren't two things that meshed well. She hung up on Grissom when the pot started to boil water and make a mess everywhere. She finally got the spaghetti noodles cooked and cleaned up the kitchen in time to hear Greg starting to whine about being hungry.

"And how old are you?" Sara retorted.

"What does it matter? I'm hungry!" Greg whined again.

"Well, you're inpatient, and you're sitting at the coffee table coloring a book on bugs, how old are you?" Sara joked.

"I thought I might bring it in to Grissom," Greg tried to say with a straight face as he held up a picture of a cockroach, which Greg had added racing strips to.

"Yeah, you do that Greg, I dare you." Sara laughed. Greg got up and helped Sara set the table. When they were done Sadie came over to the table and asked.

"Can I put this on the refrigerator?" Sadie held up the picture of what she had been coloring. Sara was taken back, she had never dreamed of putting children's drawings on her refrigerator. It just hadn't been in her plans, but she willingly agreed and helps Sadie proudly place her picture on the refrigerator. Greg watched the interplay quietly and smiled.

"So now can we eat?" Greg broke the silence with a whine.

"Yeah, yeah, dig in." Sara said as she filled her own plate and began to eat.

The meal was relatively quiet with some small talk, when Greg began to ask Sara.

"Did it seem like Catherine, Nick and Warrick, knew something we didn't?"

"I don't know, I guess I wasn't really paying attention." Sara replied. She thought about it for a moment. "Maybe it was something to do with work or some inside joke or something. It's hard with us being split up like we are."

"Yeah maybe it was that." Greg just brushed off the idea. After they had finished the meal, Greg helped Sara clean up. Sadie returned to coloring in the living room. Greg looked at the clock on the wall and sadly realized he had to head to the lab. He wanted to stay. He like being like this, whatever it was, eating dinner together, not just with Sara, but with Sadie too. It felt comfortable.

"Sara thanks for dinner, but I'm going to head over to the lab now." Greg said.

"No problem. Thanks for staying." Sara replied. She walked over to Greg and gave him a hug.

"Hakuna Matata." Greg whispered in her ear.

"You know we still need to see that movie," Sara laughed as she let go of Greg.

"Call me if you need anything." Greg said as he turned and walked out the door. Sara went to join Sadie in the living room. Sara noticed Greg had left his racing cockroach picture in the book, and she decided that if it wasn't going to Grissom, there could be another place for this.

"Hey, Sadie, what do you say we put Greg's picture up on the frig too?" Sara asked. Sadie giggled and nodded her head. When Sara came back from the kitchen Sadie said to her.

"Now you have to color a picture too, so we can put it up on the frig too!" Sara laughed. She hadn't colored since grade school, but was enjoying herself just the same. When she had finished, and Sadie had posted the picture on the frig, Sara realized how late it was getting. She got Sadie ready for bed and tucked her in when Sadie asked Sara to read to her again. Sara picked up where they had left off the night before. Within minuets, Sadie had fallen sound asleep. Sara walked out to the living room and decided that it was time to catch up on her forensic journals.

An hour later when Sara was deep into the article, "Inhomogeneity and aging of ballpoint pen inks inside of pen cartridges," a scared Sadie came running out to the living room. Sara looked up and asked.

"Did you have another bad dream?" Sadie shook her head no. "Then why are you scared, kiddo?"

"There's a monster under the bed." Sadie said as she looked at Sara still scared. Sara picked up the little girl and brought her back to the bedroom. Sara turned on the light and tried to show Sadie that there was no monster, but Sadie was still scared. Sara tried to calm Sadie down and put her back to bed, but Sadie refused. Sara understood about being scared of something she did see, but she didn't know how to handle the boogie man. Sara brought Sadie back out to the living room and decided to call Greg. She figured she had called Catherine enough in the last two days, that she should try not to bother her anymore.

"Sanders" Greg picked up the phone.

"Hey Greg, it's Sara, you know you left your picture here? I'm sure Grissom was mighty disappointed to not receive a drawing from his newest CSI." Sara teased.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot." Greg tried to lie. "So is everything ok? Is something wrong?" Greg asked.

"Everything's ok, well sort of. Sadie's afraid of a 'monster' that's under the bed and I can't get her back to sleep."

"A monster? Well have you tried 'Anti-Monster Spray'?" Greg replied.

"Umm, Greg, have you been getting to close to the chemicals again?" Sara asked confused.

"No!" Greg retorted, "It's what my mom use to use when my sister or I was younger and we said there was a monster in our closet. We were young enough that we could read so mom held up a spray bottle and said that the writing on the label said 'Anti-Monster Spray'. And we believed her. She'd spray the closet, and the monster disappeared, but the closet did smell a lot like Lysol. She left the bottle in our room and when we thought the monster had come back, we'd spray him, and he'd disappear. I learned the truth when I was cleaning out my closet for college and found a couple of empty bottles of Lysol in the back. By then I could read."

"And this really worked?" Sara asked skeptically.

"Yeah, as long as it seems you believe in it, she'll be fine. Do you have some air freshener or something you can use?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure I do somewhere." Sara said good-bye and went in search of her cleaning supplies. A few minuets later she found a bottle of air freshener, and figured since Sadie was still wide-awake sitting on the couch, it couldn't hurt to try.

"Hey Sadie, I found my 'Anti-Monster Spray' why don't you show me where that monster way, and we'll spray him and he won't come back."

"Ok," Sadie got up, but stayed close to Sara as they entered the bedroom. "He was under the bed." Sadie pointed. Sara bent down and proceeded to spray under the bed. "That smells funny." Sadie replied.

"Umm..." Sara paused. "That means it's working." Sara said hoping that Sadie bought it. Apparently she did be cause she seemed to calm down instantly. "I'm going to leave this bottle here for you, so that if he comes back you can spray him, ok?" Sara asked as she began to tuck Sadie into bed.

"Ok, but why does it say 'Oust Air Sanitizer' if it's 'Anti-Monster Spray'?" Sadie asked.

"You can read that?" Sara asked surprised. She turned the bottle over and asked Sadie if she could read the back. Sadie read through the back of the bottle only stumbling on the larger words. Sara was amazed. She asked, "Where did you learn how to read?" Sadie just shrugged her shoulders. Sara knew that most 5-year-olds could barely read basic words, but for Sadie to be capable of reading advance directions was amazing. Sadie reminded Sara of herself when she was younger. The librarian uses to tell Sara that the books she was reading were even bigger than she was. There was something deep that connect Sara and Sadie that went beyond seeing the hatred and violence of murder. She knew at that moment, she had to do whatever she could to take care of the little girl.

"Will you stay with me till I fall asleep?" Sadie asked, her eyes were beginning to get heavy.

"Of course I will," Sara said as she climbed into bed next to Sadie.

"Sara, can I stay here forever?" Sadie said sleepily.

"Of course you can." Sara said as she cradled Sadie in her arms long after the little girl had fallen asleep.


	17. Unknown

"_Our lives improve only when we take chances-and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves"_

_Unknown_

Greg waited anxiously for shift to end. He wanted to call Sara and see if his 'Anti-Monster Spray' had worked. He wondered if Sadie was still having nightmares. He wondered what they were doing today, and if he could come along. Walking out to his car he dialed Sara's number.

"Sidle," Sara picked up the phone.

"Hey Sara, it's Greg, I was wondering how the 'Anti-Monster Spray' worked out."

"Well, it worked out well till she told me that the bottle did not say 'Anti-Monster Spray' but actually said 'Oust Air Sanitizer." Sara replied.

"She can read?" Greg asked shocked.

"Apparently, hey do you think you could do me a favor?" Sara asked.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Well, would you mind coming over and watching Sadie for a little bit, I've got some things to think about and would like to go for a run." Sara asked.

"Sure, I'm just leaving the lab now, I'll be over in a few minuets."

"Thanks Greg, you've been a great help." Sara replied gratefully.

When Greg arrived, he saw Sadie sleepily seated on the couch watching cartoons. Greg headed over to join her. Sara told Greg she was going to run around the apartment complex a few times, since the complex was rather large. Greg just nodded and was just as entertained as Sadie watching the cartoons. About ten minuets after Sara had left Sadie started to get agitated.

"Where's Sara?" Sadie asked Greg.

"She went out for a run, she'll come back." Greg tried to calm the little girl.

"But she said I could stay with her." Sadie said, as she was about to cry.

"You are staying with her, she just needed a little time to herself, and she'll be back." Greg tried harder to calm the girl.

"But she said I could stay with her forever!" Sadie whined.

"Forever? Wait, when did she say this?" Greg asked shocked.

"When she got rid of the monsters last night. She said I could stay with her forever." Sadie said impatiently.

"Wow," Greg said trying to absorb the new information. He knew Sara had already become attached to the little girl, but taking her 'forever' was huge.

"Where's Sara?" Sadie whined again.

"I told you, she's out running. How about we bring some water downstairs, and hand it to her when she runs by." Greg suggested. Just as he and Sadie had made it down stairs, with water bottles in each hand, they saw Sara coming around the corner going a full speed. It wasn't until Sara was right in front of them, did she realize someone had been calling her name.

"Two more laps," Sara yelled out, as she grabbed a water bottle from Greg. She waved to Sadie and the little girl waved back. Sara wasn't the only one out running that day. Other people walked and ran by the steps where Greg and Sadie were sitting. Sadie waved to all of them. A few minuets later, Sara could be seen coming around the corner again. Sadie jumped up and started waving frantically at Sara. Sara slowed down her pace and met up with Greg and Sadie. She took the water bottle the little girl offered her and drank.

"Ok, guys, I just want to do one more lap." Sara said and began to run off. Sara hear little foot steps joining her as Sadie followed.

"Can I run too?" Sadie asked. Sara smiled and nodded. She looked back to Greg and said.

"Are you coming too?" Not in the mood to run, or dress for it, Greg still volunteered. He figured that eventually they would all slow down so Sadie could walk. They made it almost a quarter of a mile before Sadie slowed down to a walk. By this time Sara had enough time to think through everything that was going on, and matched Sadie's pace. Eventually Greg met up with them. The three of them walked the rest of the route to the way home. Sadie held both Sara's and Greg's hands as they occasionally picked her up and swung her. She giggled every time.

After the three had eventually made it back to the apartment, they were all hungry. Sadie agreed to help Greg make breakfast, while Sara took a shower. While Sara was in the shower her cell phone rang. Greg noticed the caller ID read 'Willows' so he figured he'd see if he could tease Catherine again.

"Paco' Taco's, how hot do ya like it?" Greg answered.

"Greg!" Catherine yelled.

"The one and only," Greg answered smoothly.

"Why are you answering Sara's phones again? And where is Sara?" Catherine asked.

"Sara's in the shower. She asked me to come over for a bit and watch Sadie while she ran and showered."

"Oh, ok, well would you tell her I called and have her call me back." Catherine asked.

"Can do!" Greg said as he pretended to write a message in the air. Greg sat down and opened the Sunday Morning News. "Ohhh the funnies," Greg said as he flipped through the newspaper. "Hey Sadie do you want to read the paper with me?" Sadie studied him for a bit before climbing into his lap to read with him. Greg was surprised at how well Sadie could read. The oven dinged as Sara was walking into the kitchen. Sara watched Greg and Sadie reading the paper before she decided to get the cinnamon buns out of the oven before the burnt. Sara placed them on a plate and joined Greg and Sadie at the table. Greg and Sadie put down the paper and began to eat with Sara.

"Sadie was showing me her reading skills." Greg said.

"Really, it sounded like she was showing off her giggling skills to me." Sara mocked.

"We are reading the cartoons, they're funny." Sadie replied and they all laughed. After they had finished eating Sadie asked if she could watch Nemo.

"Again?" Sara asked confused. Sadie had seen the whole thing at least once, maybe twice or even three times this weekend already. But Sadie looked so excited that Sara couldn't turn her down. Sara started the movie and joined Greg who was sitting at the table still reading the paper.

"Oh yeah, Catherine called while you were in the shower." Greg replied when Sara sat down.

"Did she leave a message? Don't tell me you tried to aggravate her when you answered the phone." Sara asked worried.

"I would never do anything like that." Greg stated. "She just told me to tell you she called and to have you call back. That was it, no juicy gossip." Greg laughed. "But Sara, I do have a question for you." Greg said.

"Go for it." Sara just commented.

"What did you say to Sadie after you got her to bed the second time. She got really agitated when you left to go running, because she said you told her she could stay with you 'forever'." Greg said getting right to the point.

"She told you that?" Sara replied shocked.

"So is it true?" Greg asked.

"I think so. I mean she did ask me again last night if she could stay 'forever'. And I did say yes in way." Sara said.

"So you're considering seeing if DCFS will let you keep her? Sara that's awesome!" Greg said with a huge smile on his face. "So what made you decide?" Greg asked.

Sara paused for a minuet trying to collect her thoughts. Greg watched the emotion flash through Sara's eyes and he reached out and squeezed her hand that was lying on the table. She looked up and smiled at him.

"She's too young to survive in a group home. I know." Sara swallowed hard. "I know because I've been there." Sara paused again. "I've been there because I've been through exactly what Sadie is going through, but I was older. They sent me to a group home for four years, until I graduated high school early and left for college. Greg, it was awful, everything I had was either stolen or broken. I got shoved around all time and ignored." Sara spoke quietly as a tear rolled down her face. Greg was struggling to process everything Sara had told him. Greg went right over to Sara and held her. Sara relaxed in his arms and let him hold her. Greg whispered in her ear.

"I don't think there is anyone better to take care of her than you. I'll do whatever I can to help."

Sara smiled genuinely and whispered back, "Thank you." Greg realized after a while, as much as he wanted to stay here with Sara in his arms, he was tired. He slowly untangled himself from Sara and gathered his things and said good-bye to Sadie. He looked over at Sara and said.

"Hakuna Matata." And kissed her on the forehead before leaving. Sara sat down on the couch with Sadie and gave the little girl a hug.

_Read, review, rant, rave, it makes my day!_


	18. Bacon

"_We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends."_

_Sir Francis Bacon_

"Willows"

"Hey Cath, it's Sara, Greg told me you called."

"Yeah, I did, I wanted to see what you guys have planned for today"

"Nothing so far, wait, did Greg try to mess around with you on the phone, again?" Sara asked.

"Nothing I couldn't handle, though, it is interesting to hear him pick up the phone in the morning two days in a row." Catherine inquired.

"Yeah he stops by after work, you know in the morning, since he's on graveyard." Sara didn't mind Greg stopping by at all, but she wasn't sure she wanted to be the next lab gossip. For now, Catherine seemed to accept the answer.

"Anyways," Catherine started, figuring she could get more out of Sara face to face. "Lindsey's on a maturity kick. Not that I'm against it in anyway, but I let her stay home last night instead of going to her aunts. I was pleasantly surprised to come home to find it still in one piece. Other than Lindsey had fallen asleep on the couch, the dishes were done and the trash had been taken out. Shocking."

"Some thirteen year olds are mature for their age." Sara interrupted. Catherine casually said.

"I bet you were." As Catherine continued. "Anyways, Lindsey would like to 'baby-sit' Sadie for you. I told her, not yet, but I was thinking maybe we could have her 'baby-sit' Sadie inside while we have some coffee and chat outside. It is a beautiful day out."

"I think that sounds good Cath, especially, that Greg's going to watch her Monday night when I go into work. Maybe this will get her prepared." Sara added. "We'll probably be over in an hour if that's ok." Catherine agreed. Sara walked into the living room where Sadie was coloring and asked the little girl.

"Sadie, would you like to go over to Catherine's and Lindsey's and have Lindsey baby-sit you." The little girl looked unsure. "You and Lindsey will be inside and Catherine and I will be outside, if you need me you can just come out and see me." This seemed to reassure Sadie.

On their drive to Catherine's both Sara and Sadie sang along with the radio, Sara was greatly enjoying this, until she thought about the words of the song. Sara tried to change the station but found nothing. Worrying about what music Sadie was listening too, now Sara knew she had gone off the deep end.

When they arrived at Catherine's, Lindsey greeted them. Sadie quickly ran off with her, as Catherine handed a large cup of coffee and motioned for Sara to join her on the porch. Sara and Catherine chatted for a while about stuff going on at work, and the cases the swing shift had been working on. Catherine asked how things were going with Sadie, and Sara explained about the monster's last night and about the 'Anti-Monster Spray'. Catherine began to laugh.

"What made you think of that, it's great!"

"Well, it wasn't really my idea. I figured I had already bothered you enough, so when I couldn't get Sadie back to sleep, I called Greg, and he suggested it." Sara stated.

"Greg, hmm, you guys seem to be spending a lot of time together." Catherine said with a smirk. Sara rolled her eyes and said.

"Come on, he and I are just good friends, and now that the whole shift got split, who else would I hang out with. Sofia? I don't think so. We've have been spending time together, more so since Sadie's been here, but I trust him, and he good with her." Sara carefully said. She liked Greg's friendship, but his willingness to help out Sara with Sadie was making Sara re-evaluate their friendship. Greg had held her when she cried; he had such a calming strength about him. He could make her laugh, even if it meant taunting Catherine over the phone and she felt comfortable with him. Maybe there was something more going on. But then again, maybe she had just inhaled a little too much 'Anti-Monster Spray'.

"Earth to Sara… Come back from Greggo Land." Catherine replied. She had seen Sara's gaze drift and knew that she was thinking of something, more likely someone.

"I wasn't thinking about Greg.." Sara tried to collect herself.

"Sure you weren't. Oh, and Grissom just became an exterminator." Catherine teased seeing the blush that had crept onto Sara's face. "Well, seeing as someone is toughly embarrassed, I'll be the adult and change the subject." Catherine added, as she saw Sara roll her eyes. "Have you thought anymore about what Sadie said?"

Sara knew what she meant. Had Sara thought anymore about letting Sadie stay 'forever'. Sara had more than thought, she had decided, but she was still worried about how her friends might take it. She knew Greg was supportive, but she was unsure what the rest would think. Sara knew Catherine would honestly tell her the truth about being a single mom and working eccentric hours.

"Well, I have been thinking. Sadie's too young to survive in a group home, and there's a connection that we have. She's seen a lot at such a young age, and group homes are awful." Sara began.

"And you would know about what happens in group homes from your own experience." Catherine stated. She covered her mouth wishing the words had not come out. She hadn't been thinking, she just had blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. She looked at Sara who had a mixture of pain and anger in her eyes. Sara stood up and started to walk away as she said.

"I can't believe him, I trusted him, he couldn't even wait till he got into work to spread my personal life around. I'm going to kill him!" Sara was yelling.

"Wait, wait, Sara who are you talking about." Catherine had braced herself for the onslaught of anger, but for Sara to pick out someone else confused her.

"What? Like he didn't call you on his way home. God, how can I be so stupid. I really trusted him. He's been so kind and compassionate, and now I know all he wanted was some dirt on me." Sara said trying to hold back tears.

"Are you talking about Greg?" Catherine asked.

"Of course, how else would you know I had been in a group home? I just told him this morning. I thought I could trust him." Sara said, trying not to cry.

"Sara, you've got to believe me, Greg didn't tell us anything." It was one thing for Catherine to feel guilty about going behind Sara's back, but it was another thing to break up an ever-budding romance. She had to convince Sara that Greg had nothing to do with it. Even if it meant bearing the full force of Sara's anger. Sara looked at Catherine confused and asked.

"Us?"

"Yeah, us," Catherine took a moment to try to figure what would be the best way to explain what she had coerced Nick and Warrick to help her with. "Sara sit down," Catherine tried to start. "I've got something to tell you, and you're not going to like it. I had Nick and Warrick helping me with something when it was slow. God, Sara, I'm sorry, but I wanted to know, and Grissom wouldn't say anything." Sara sat confused. She looked at Catherine, not sure weather to trust her, or continue on her rage about Greg.

"I don't understand." Sara said.

"Ok, I'm just going to be honest with you. Grissom said he had 'objectives' as to why he sent you to the hospital with Sadie. I wanted to know what those 'objectives' were that he pulled off his best CSI on a murder case. He said I should 'drop it' and I knew there was more. So I did a search in the National Crime Database with your name." Catherine noticed Sara starting to go pale. "And I came up with a bunch of information about you solving cases, but I found one piece of information about a woman by the name of Laura Sidle, who had killed her husband." Sara was now white as a ghost. "And it said that there was a child, but all it said was the child was taken into protective services. So I begged Nick and Warrick to help me find more info. We found an old newspaper article that went along with the crime. It had a picture of a police officer walking out a young girl. Sara, that was you, we'd recognize your face anywhere." Catherine stated. Sara sat there with shock spread across her face. "Sara, I'm sorry, I just wanted to know. I'm so sorry, and Nick and Warrick feel awful too." Catherine stopped and prepared herself for the onslaught that was about to hit. Sara sat for a while before she began to speak.

"You wanted to know! You really want to know? You want to know what it's like to get beat by your parents? What is like to hear them screaming all hours of the night? What it's like to watch your mother stab your father? You really want to know what it's like being sent to a group home? Having everything stolen from you. Being so tormented that your only escape is to graduate a year early from high school and move 3,000 miles away. Is that what you wanted to know about Catherine?" By the time Sara had finished she was screaming. Lindsey and Sadie had come to the window overlooking the porch and Catherine motioned to them to stay inside. Sadie paid no attention to Catherine and ran out to Sara. Sadie wrapped herself around Sara's leg tightly. Sara looked down at the little girl and felt slightly calmer. Pissed as all hell, but no longer needed to scream. She picked up the little girl and gave her a hug. She looked at Catherine and simply stated.

"I think it's time we go," as Sara carried Sadie out to the car, Catherine ran after them.

"Listen Sara, I'm truly sorry. I felt so guilty knowing, and I wanted you to know. You're an amazing person to take your past and make such a future for yourself. You would be great for Sadie, and we'll all help you with whatever you need. I'm sorry Sara, but I've enjoyed the time we've spent together this weekend as friends instead of coworkers. I don't know what else to say." Catherine begged.

"Catherine, I'm pissed." Sara simply stated. "A few hours ago, Grissom was the only one that knew, and I didn't willingly tell him. Now everyone knows. It's something I've kept to myself for so long that I don't know how to approach other people knowing. It's not an experience I like to remember. I don't appreciate people going behind my back to try to find out about my past. I'm glade you were honest with me, but I need time to think. Think about who my friends are, what is happening, and what I am going to do." With that, Sara placed Sadie in her booster seat, got into the car and drove off.

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	19. Hanh

To all my faithful reviewers, sorry for the absence, class work was calling, but I'm back now, plus the chapter is longer than usual, and all the questions you guys have been asking me, will eventually be answered. Thanks so much again for all your amazing reviews! Please keep up with it!

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"_People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle."_

_Thich Nhat Hanh_

The whole drive back to her apartment, Sara was ruminating over what Catherine and the guys had done. She was furious, yet, partially relieved knowing at least she wouldn't be forced to tell them, like she had been with Grissom. Pulling into the driveway, Sara looked into the back seat to see Sadie sound asleep in her booster seat. After parking the car, Sara carefully unbuckled the child and carried her to Sara's apartment. She laid Sadie down on the bed before tucking her in for a nap. The peaceful silence that had fallen over the apartment gave Sara space to think. Come hell or high water, she was going to keep Sadie, but now she needed to know how. Sara figured, if Catherine and the guys were able to find out about her past via the internet, Sara would certainly be able to find the resources that would tell her how she could keep Sadie.

After mulling over the computer for well over an hour, Sara had found very little information. Frustrated and at the end of her rope, Sara wasn't sure where else to turn. She heard her phone ring and ran to grab it.

"Sidle."

"Hey Sara, it's Greg, how are things going?" Greg asked innocently.

"They're… um… well things aren't going well, and I owe you an apology." Sara mumbled.

"An apology for what? You haven't done anything wrong." Greg was confused

"Well, let's just say, that I miss judged you, and I'm sorry."

"Sara, I'm confused, can you tell me what's going on?" Greg asked.

"Well, it's probably best I not do it over the phone. I was about to make dinner, would you like to come over and join us and maybe we could talk." Sara asked.

"I'd love to, I'll be over in a little bit." Greg replied, he could tell something was going on, but wasn't sure what exactly. He had just called to see how Sara was doing, especially after what she had told him this morning, but had secretly hoped he would be spending dinner with Sara and Sadie. Greg figured something must have happened with Catherine earlier to warrant such a strange reaction from Sara. He gathered a few movies for Sadie and headed over to Sara's.

When Greg arrived, he found Sara in the kitchen making dinner and Sadie sitting at the coffee table coloring. Greg thought for a moment how nice this would be to come home to on a regular basis.

"So, are you Ms. Domestic or what?" Greg asked teasing Sara.

"Yeah, that's me, born and bread to be a housewife." Sara replied sarcastically.

"So I brought over some more movies so that you have a change from 'Finding Nemo'." Greg said as he held up a plastic bag.

"That's great, why don't you put those in the living room. It's still going to be a little while before dinner's ready." Sara replied. Greg put the movies in the living room near Sadie. She looked up and greeted Greg with a hug. Greg smiled and went to join Sara at the table. Sara had grabbed two sodas and handed one to Greg as he sat down.

"So you wanna tell me what's going on?" Greg bluntly asked. Sara stared at the floor for a moment before replying.

"You remember what I told you this morning." She said slowly.

"Yes, I do." Greg simply stated as he put his hand over Sara's hand, which had been lying on the table. Sara looked up slowly and Greg gave her hand a squeeze.

"I went over to Catherine's, so Lindsey could practice baby-sitting. We sat out on the porch with coffee chatting." Sara paused. "She asked about what I was going to do with Sadie, and I said that I didn't want her going to a group home." Sara swallowed. "Then she said, 'like you'? She knew, Greg, she knew." Sara slowly looked up at Greg to see him watching her contently. "I'm sorry Greg, I just assumed you told her. I thought maybe you had called her or something. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to distrust you, but I didn't think there was any other way that she could have found out." Sara stated.

"I didn't call her or tell her anything Sara. I wouldn't do that, you can trust me." Greg tried to quickly respond before Sara cut him off.

"I know Greg, but I just didn't know what to think. Then Catherine told me how she found out. You know how she found out? She searched the National Crime Database and the internet. Not only did she go behind my back, she also employed Nick and Warrick to help her. Yeah, they found out, and she couldn't keep her damn mouth shut." Sara was getting more and more agitated. Greg was worried and squeezed Sara's hand trying to help her calm down.

"She told you this?" Greg asked about Catherine.

"Yeah, she did. I didn't know how to react. I got pissed, real pissed. Sadie came outside and attached herself to me, so I picked her up and we left."

"Did Catherine explain or apologize?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, she tried to, but I didn't want to hear it. I thought we were becoming friends, and then she does this? And I thought Nick and Warrick were my friends too, and they helped her." Sara said slowly becoming defeated.

"Well, I'd say give it sometime. Maybe she did it because she was worried about you. You're not the most open person, and maybe she was, I don't know, scared for you or something." Greg tried to remain calm.

"I told her I needed some time, but I don't know what to do." Sara stood up and headed towards the kitchen. Greg followed her, and took her into a hug when they reached the kitchen. Sara just stood, feeling the comfort of Greg's strength. Slowly she felt the loss of contact when the oven began to ding. Pulling out the lasagna and setting it on the counter to cool, Sara turned to Greg and said.

"I want to keep Sadie, I want her to be here 'forever'."

"I know, I promised I'd help you, and I will, have you found out any information that would help you so far?" Greg said with a smile.

"I tried the internet, but I didn't find a whole lot of information. It was frustrating." Sara said.

"Have you tried talking to a lawyer?" Greg suggested.

"And where would I find one, not only is it Sunday, it's also Memorial Day weekend." Sara whined.

Greg looked at her with a smile. "I think I could find one." Sara looked at him confused but listened while he continued. "My sister's a lawyer. She lives in Ash Springs, which is about two hours away. She works mostly with juvenile delinquents, but I'm sure she'd be more than willing to help you." Sara just stared at Greg in shock. "I didn't want to call and ask her before I talked to you but if you want we can call her and get her help." Sara thought for a minuet before replying.

"Thank you." She hugged Greg again. After they had finished dinner they called Greg's sister. She was more than pleased to help, and invited them to visit her tonight. Sara was unsure about traveling that far to meet someone she didn't know, and discuss a subject she was totally unsure about. Greg offered.

"Why don't I call in sick."

"Grissom would never let you get away with that, with me on 'vacation', and Sofia being incompetent, they need someone in there." Sara retorted.

"Sofia's not incompetent, you just don't like her." Greg teased. "Maybe I could get someone to cover for me. I'm sure Catherine, Nick, or Warrick would cover for me if they knew why. Sara they owe you to say the least." Greg responded.

"You really think they would go for that? I mean it is kind of last minuet." Sara replied concerned.

"It's the least they can do, after what they have done. I'm not saying this makes things equal, but they are probably feeling guilty at the least, and they'll do it."

"Ok, I guess, but I don't really want to be the one to call." Sara said.

"No problem, I'll call, get covered and then the three of us will take a road trip to visit my sister." Greg said excitedly.

"Willows," Catherine said as she picked up the phone. The night had been relatively busy, so she had not gotten a chance to sit and relax. She was looking forward to going home and sleeping off some of her guilt from what had happened with Sara.

"Oh, no fun, I was expecting something more. Are you always so boring when you pick up the phone?" Greg teased Catherine.

"No, I'm just not immature. So what's up Greggo?" Catherine asked. She wondered if Sara had told him what had happened earlier. She figured Sara had, her and Greg had been getting very close lately.

"Well here's the thing. I'm at Sara's, and we would like to take a trip to visit my sister who is a lawyer so that she can explain what would be involved if Sara chose to seek custody of Sadie." Greg replied matter-of-factly. "I was curious to see if you, or Nick, or Warrick could cover my shift tonight."

"Seek custody? As in Sara's trying to keep Sadie?" Catherine asked excitedly.

"Well, yeah, that's what she's thinking so far. I think it would be good for both of them." Greg replied.

"I think that would be great. I'll get somebody to cover, don't worry about it. Let us know if you guys need some more time or whatever. I'll talk to Grissom, but I certainly don't think he'd mind working with some of his old graveyard shift again." Catherine replied.

"That'd be great. Thanks a lot."

"No problem, hey and would you tell Sara we're sorry. I know she said she needed some time, but we are all really sorry, and if she needs anything, just give us a call, ok?"

"No problems Cath, I'm sure she'll be ok. I'll talk to you guys later!" Greg replied as he hung up the phone. Greg looked at Sara with a big smile on his face and yelled out.

"ROAD TRIP!"

Sara just laughed. She gathered her stuff, and got Sadie ready for their 'road trip'. At Greg's suggestion, Sara brought her financial portfolio, contact information and other items that would show Sara's competency in caring for a child. They wanted to be prepared, because they knew Greg's sister would be completely honest with them. They packed up the car and headed to Ash Springs.

Two hours in the car is a little tiring in it's self, but two hours in a car with a 5-year-old, was a whole new experience for both Sara and Greg. Three bathroom stops, two for Sadie, and one for Greg, and what seemed like a hundred different songs sung, completely out of key, they finally arrived. Greeting them was the spitting image of Greg. Funky hair, rocker t-shirt, and loud. Sara wondered how this woman could ever be a lawyer.

"Wow, Greggy-pooh, I haven't seen you in a while!" Greg's sister ran and gave him a hug. "Oh excuse me, how rude, I'm Jewleigh, Greg's sister, you must be Sara, and this one must be Sadie." Sadie clung to Sara, not sure of the new adult.

"Nice to meet you," Sara held out her hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you, you know how Greggy-pooh can never keep his mouth shut." Jewleigh said, both Sara and Greg turned shades of pink. Greg was already red from having his sister call him 'Greggy-pooh' in front of Sara, but now she had to mention that he talked about her, Greg just wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

"Why do you call him 'Greggy-pooh'?" Sadie piped up. Sara and Jewleigh laughed. Greg turned even redder.

"I call him that because he's my baby brother. And even though he's a grown up, he still acts like a baby sometimes." Jewleigh laughed.

"Can I call him that?" Sadie asked. Jewleigh and Sara broke into fits of hysterical laughter. As embarrassed as Greg was, he couldn't help but laugh too. When the adults had calmed down, Sara replied.

"Why don't you just call him Greg for now?"

Jewleigh ushered them into the house and offered them drinks. They sat in a large living room as they began to discuss what the possibilities for Sadie's future were. They told Jewleigh about the case, what had happened so far, and what the expected out come for the wife was. Jewleigh was pleased with the information that Sara had brought. When they began to discuss Sara's childhood, Sara became hesitant. Sara just simply stated.

"I was in the system." Jewleigh understood what she meant. Jewleigh mentioned that Sara coming out of the system to become such a successful person would greatly increase the chances of gaining custody. However, Jewleigh was concerned about if Sara would have enough space for a child and how she would be able to get a sitter for overnights since Sara worked the graveyard shift. Overall it went well. Jewleigh believed that the chances for Sara gaining full custody of the child, if there were no other relatives, were very good. She also managed to show Sara a few baby pictures of Greg, keeping his face red for most of the night. Sadie had long since fallen asleep in Sara's lap.

"You know, she looks just like you." Jewleigh said.

"That's what everyone has said." Sara replied. Greg got up to use the rest room and as soon as he was gone, Jewleigh asked Sara.

"So are you and my brother together?"  
"Uhhh, he's… he's just a really good friend." Sara stuttered.

"I just wanted to know because it seems like he's talked about you for years. And now that you're his mentor, he's even more taken by you. I know he's a bit of a punk, but he's a good kid. Well, I guess, an adult. But you are defiantly the first woman he had brought to visit me. Usually his girls are here one week and gone the next, a bit flighty, but I heard about you for a long time. Don't worry good things." Jewleigh tried to reassure Sara, Jewleigh could tell Sara was becoming more and more embarrassed as Jewleigh kept talking. Jewleigh like this woman, she obviously had the heart to open up her home to a child at the last minuet, and is willing to fight to protect the child. There was something else about the woman that drew Jewleigh to her. It seemed that there was something that linked Sara to the little girl. It was some sort of survivor kinship. What had ever happened to put Sara into the system as a child must have been brutal. But Jewleigh could also see the strength that Sara possessed. If Greg let this woman get away she was going to be very disappointed.

"I trust him." Sara said slowly. "And I don't trust a lot of people." Jewleigh nodded; unfortunately Greg came walking into the room at this point. It was obvious whom they had been talking about. Sara's face turned bright red and she felt guilty that she had been talking about Greg.

"Were you two talking about me?" Greg asked.

"But of course." Jewleigh replied. "I was just telling Sara about the Halloween that you wanted to dress up as a ballerina, tutu and all." Greg's face went red and Sara's jaw dropped.

"Do you have pictures of this?" Sara asked excitedly.

"Some where, I'll have to find them. But I can bring them next time we meet." Jewleigh said with a huge grin on her face. Greg knew she was going to be the death of him. Embarrassing and it would eventually be, it was bound to come out sometime. Greg and Sara realized how late it was getting and they knew they still had a two hour drive home. It looked like Sadie was out for the night, so they packed up their stuff and headed out to the car. Sara thanked Jewleigh for all her help numerous times and made plans to meet again once Sara had talked to DCFS. Greg was happy the marathon embarrassment session had come to a close. They got into the car and began the long drive back to Sara's apartment.

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	20. Demosthenes

_Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.  
__Demosthenes_

Sadie slept peacefully the entire drive to Sara's apartment. Greg, initially expecting to be working, was wide-awake. Sara was musing over the information that Jewleigh had provided her. When they arrived at Sara's apartment, Greg helped carry Sadie to the bedroom. Sara helped Greg tuck Sadie into bed.

"Do you want to stay for a bit? Maybe watch a movie or something?" Sara asked as they made their way out to the living room.

"Sure, I brought 'The Lion King', so you could finally see it!" Greg held up the DVD excitedly.

"Don't you think that's a little young for us?" Sara asked rolling her eyes.

"Well, what do you have?" Greg asked as he searched though Sara's minimal selection of DVD's. Greg picked out a suspense movie he hadn't seen. "What about this?"

"Ok, but you can't laugh at me when I get jumpy." Sara warned. Greg put the DVD in and sat down on the couch with Sara. Greg realized Sara hadn't been kidding she was extremely jumpy. By the end of the movie, Sara was snuggled up close to Greg. Not wanting to lose contact, Greg let Sara make the first move.

"I'm um… sorry for being so jumpy." Sara said as she detached herself from Greg. She had been so comfortable, leaned up against Greg with his arm around her. She knew she shouldn't think anything of it, they were just friends, but she was enjoying it, and knew she wanted more. "Hey, I'm a little scared to sleep right now… you know, the movie and all… um… would you still want to watch 'The Lion King'?" Sara asked.

"Sure, I'd love to, plus I'm still wide awake." Greg tried to reply calmly. He would have stayed to watch one of Grissom's experiments grow if it meant he'd be able to snuggle with Sara again. Sara changed the DVD and climbed back onto the couch. To Greg's surprise, and enjoyment, she climbed back into the position she had just been in. Greg wrapped his arm around her shoulders and started to play idly with her hair. Sara laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. They sat comfortably just watching the movie. When Tumone and Pumba began to sing "Hakuna Matata" Greg released his grip on Sara and pointed at the tv.

"Oh, oh, this is the part, the thing I was saying earlier." Sara didn't know weather to laugh at the tv or at the childish way Greg was suddenly acting. By the end of the song, both Sara and Greg were laughing hysterically. Calming down they repositioned themselves on the couch. Ignoring the movie, Sara turned to Greg and said.

"Thank you, for everything."

"It's been my pleasure." Greg said quietly. Greg and Sara's eyes met and they stared at one another for a long moment. Slowly the both leaned in and kissed. Gently, but with promise. The movie was forgotten as they laid down on the couch and continued to trade gentle kisses. Neither one felt the need to push it any further. Eventually, late into the night, they fell asleep on the couch in each other's arms.

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	21. Baldwin

_The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours. No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, you possess the certainty that, during the day that lies before you, absolutely anything may happen. And the fact that it practically always doesn't matters not a lot. The possibility is always there._

_Monica Baldwin_

Sara slowly awoke. She realized she wasn't in her bed and she wasn't alone. She thought back to the night before, and realized that 'The Lion King' was now one of her favorite movies. She slowly opened her eyes to be greeted by Greg's gentle stare.

"Good morning, beautiful," Greg said, hoping that Sara wasn't regretting the new change in their friendship.

"You were watching me sleep," Sara commented, but with a graceful smile.

"Yeah, I was." Greg admitted, "You looked so peaceful." Greg brushed a lock of hair from Sara's face.

"I like… this." Sara said.

"Me too," Greg responded.

"I'm not good with things like this, but I'd like to see where it goes. I don't regret anything, I'm just not sure what you want." Sara rambled. Greg answered her with a deep kiss. Pulling back and resting his forehead on Sara's Greg looked in her eyes and said.

"We'll take it slow, and we'll keep it quiet. I'll let you set the pace." Sara smiled and they kissed again. They broke apart when they hear the pitter patter of Sadie's footsteps on the wood floor.

"Did you come over for breakfast again, Greggy-pooh?" Sadie asked. Sara couldn't hold back her laughter as Greg glared at her.

"Umm, yes I did, what do you want for breakfast then?" Greg asked.

"PANCAKES!" Sadie yelled excitedly.

"Ok, well how about you help Greg make breakfast, and I'll take a shower." Sara said as she stood up and stretched. Sara made her way to the shower and before she stepped into the bathroom she looked back to see Sadie propped up on a chair so she could reach the counter helping Greg make pancakes. Sara thought that this would be a sight she could easily get use to. Stepping into the bathroom and starting up the shower, Sara didn't hear the phone ring. Greg looked at the caller ID before he picked up.

"Good morning and thank you for calling Coffee Addicts Anonymous, would you like to try our new flavor? Viagra-Coffee, it gets you up and keeps you up!"

"Ok, Greg, does Sara ever pick up the phone?" Catherine stated. She heard a noise in the background and her a young voice say.

"Greggy-pooh, what's viagra?" Catherine couldn't contain her laughter.

"Good morning to you too, Catherine." Greg stated flatly. Catherine heard Sadie whine for attention in the background.

"You do know Sara's gonna kill you." Catherine replied still laughing.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." Greg tried to respond.

"Oh, she'll find out. Don't worry." Catherine teased. "So is Sara around? I know she's pissed at me, but I wanted to talk to her. Maybe you guys could come with Lindsey and me to see the parade." Catherine asked.

"Sara's in the shower right now. I'll have her call you when she gets out."

"And you're not in there with her?" Catherine teased. This was the third morning that Catherine had called and Greg had answered. She had covered for Greg last night when he and Sara went to visit his sister, and Catherine deducted that he must not have left for the night. That got her curious.

"No, we are just friends." Greg stated. Honestly, he didn't know what they were, but he wasn't going to give into Catherine's passion for gossip.

"Friends with benefits?" Catherine countered.

"Even if something was going on, I wouldn't tell you. Sara's a privet person and doesn't like to have people snooping around in her personal business." Greg replied. He knew he had trapped Catherine.

"Your right. I'm sorry." Catherine said slowly. She couldn't argue with his reasoning, she had already gotten herself in enough trouble with Sara and didn't want to make it any worse. Catherine heard an angry scream in the background.

"Greg! What did you say to Sadie?" It was Sara's scream that she heard. Sadie must not have like Greg's avoidance of her question enough to go ask Sara. Catherine couldn't help but laugh.

"Umm… I'll tell you later, here, Catherine's on the phone." Greg stuttered as he shoved the phone at Sara. Sara could hear Catherine laughing over the phone.

"Hey," Sara quickly said.

"Hey, yourself. I told Greg you were going to kill him." Catherine tried to ease into the conversation.

"What did he say?" Sara was more interested in finding out exactly just what Greg had said instead of starting another fight with Catherine.

"Something about Viagra-Coffee, it gets you up. It was just Greg being Greg." Catherine replied.

"Thanks, I guess I didn't need to know. So what's up Catherine?" Sara asked, she was still a bit pissed from yesterday.

"I just wanted to apologize again, Sara, I'm sorry. If you're not too pissed with me, I was wondering if you guys wanted to join Lindsey and me to watch the parade?" Catherine responded carefully.

"There's a parade today? Hmm, never knew that. Yeah, I am still pissed, but I'm a lot calmer now. Maybe it would be good to go to the parade. We could talk." Sara replied. She was usually one to hold a grudge, but she also realized how much Catherine had helped her the first night and day with Sadie. And she also knew that if she were going to keep Sadie, Catherine's help would be greatly needed.

"Thanks Sara, I'll come by and pick you guys up around one, the parade doesn't start till two, but we'll get better spots to see the parade if we're there early."

"Sounds good to me." Sara said good-bye and hung up. By the time she was off the phone, Sadie and Greg had finished making the pancakes and they all began to dig in. When Sadie finished she ran into the living room and began to color. Greg and Sara sat at the table finishing their normal coffee.

"So I was thinking…" Sara began.

"Oh, no! Anything but that!" Greg teased, Sara rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, I was thinking that I should probably call DCFS and leave them a message saying I would like Sadie to continue to stay with me. At least so they have a heads up before we bring her in…tomorrow." Sara replied.

"I think that would be a good idea. You'll get custody of her, Sara, don't worry." Greg replied, he left to join Sadie in the living room sensing that Sara needed some privacy.

Sara pulled out the card that Rene had given her. She dialed the number and wasn't surprised when the voice mail picked up. Sara took a deep breath before leaving a message.

"Hi, Rene, this is Sara Sidle, I have Sadie Motts for the weekend and I am suppose to bring her by tomorrow, but I was wondering what the chances were that I could foster her. She's doing really well, and I've, well become quiet attached to her. Hopefully things will work out well. Thank you and I look forward to speaking with you tomorrow." Sara hung up the phone and joined Greg and Sadie in the living room.

A few hours later Catherine and Lindsey arrived. Sadie made sure to show Catherine and Lindsey the pictures on the refrigerator. Catherine laughed when she saw Greg's racing cockroaches. She'd figured she'd have to get Sara to some how sneak that into the lab one night. Piling into Sara's Denali, after Sara refused to fight with the booster seat, the group was off to the parade. Greg took off playing with the kids, as Catherine and Sara held their places to view the parade. Sara could tell Catherine was trying to say something, but couldn't seem to come up with the right words.

"Cath, please don't apologize again. I think part of it's my fault."

"No, Sara, I should have respected your privacy. I'm…" Catherine was cut off.

"I said don't say your sorry. I should have figured that I couldn't call you up in the wee hours of the morning without expecting a few questions. And I should know by now you always want to know everything." Sara said with a smirk, she had woken Catherine from a dead sleep. "I just don't discuss this freely, because, well, there was never any reason, but now… I guess since Sadie's been with me, I see there's more to life than what has happened in the past." Sara said sincerely.

"So you're saying, you just discovered you're not the center of the universe?" Catherine teased.

"Stuff it Cath." Sara retorted laughing. She like being able to talk to Catherine she had respect for the woman, despite their often differing opinions. "So did you know Greg wanted to be a ballerina for Halloween when he was little?" Sara laughed.

"No way, are you serious? Did you get that from his sister? How did the visit go?" Catherine felt relieved Sara was accepting her apology, they could both be stubborn but they also shared a respect for each other for being a part of the 'boys club'.

"It went well. I left a message with DCFS this morning giving them a heads up. Greg's sister was really supportive and she thinks I have a good chance of gaining custody of Sadie. She was the spitting image of Greg, but funnier. She teased Greg the whole time we were there. I never knew Greg could turn so red!" Sara said with a laugh. She never knew what a good kisser Greg was either till last night, but that detail she was defiantly going to leave out of the conversation.

"Hence the ballerina?" Catherine asked with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, next time we meet she's going to give me the picture! And she calls him Greggy-pooh! So Sadie asked if she could start calling him that. It was hysterical!" Sara continued to laugh.

"That's hysterical. So you guys must have gotten back pretty late?" Catherine asked, she wanted to know if she right about Greg staying over.

"Yeah, Sadie fell asleep in the car and was out for the night." Sara could tell what Catherine was getting at, but Sara and Greg barely knew what was going on, no matter to bring other people into it.

"And what about you and Greg, you guys must have been tired?" Catherine knew she was leading Sara, but she figured it was worth asking even if Sara didn't confirm anything.

"Naw, we watched a few movies. Greg fell asleep on the couch." Sara left out the fact that she fell asleep in his arms.

"Hmm, what movies did you guys 'watch'? Do you even remember?" Catherine knew she wouldn't get an answer, but she was going to press her luck.

"Catherine we're not 16 year olds making out on the couch hoping that mom and dad don't catch us." Sara said as she rolled her eyes, no in fact they were in their 30's falling for each other with a child in the other room.

"Who's making out on the couch? Eww Mom, I don't want to hear about you and Warrick." Lindsey's voice piped up behind the women. Catherine turned instantly red. Greg and Sadie joined them, and Greg and Sara laughed at Catherine's embarrassment. The subject was dropped instantly, but Greg gave a knowing glance to Sara. She shook her head reassuring him that she hadn't told Catherine anything.

The group watched the parade. Lindsey, Sadie, and Greg went running after the candy that some of the floats threw to the crowd. It was a fun time. Catherine watched Sara and Greg closely. She could tell something had changed and noticed the gentle touches and constant physical contact that seemed second nature to them. She thought Greg would be good for Sara, someone that could get her to open up and relax, and Greg was great with Sadie. Sara would need the help if she were able to get custody of Sadie.

After the parade ended, they headed back to Sara's apartment. Sara invited them to join her and Sadie for dinner, but Catherine had to get to work. Greg accepted the offer and both him and Sara avoided the look that Catherine made towards them. Catherine dropped of Lindsey on her way to work. So far Lindsey had done well staying at home, but having to get up and got to school in the morning would be a new challenge. Catherine had been impressed with Lindsey's recent change in attitude, and if this would continue to encourage it, she'd stay with it. Sara, on the other hand, was leaving Sadie for the first time so that she could go to work. She knew that Sadie would be ok with Greg, but she wasn't sure how well Sadie was going to handle it. She hoped everything would go well.

_Read, review, rant, rave! Thanks!_


	22. Unknown, again

To my awesome reviewers- You Rock My World! I can't believe I've gotten 100 reviews, and I have all of you to thank! I hope you will continue to enjoy the story. Four or five chapters to go, but don't worry most questions will be answered and I've got my next all new story in the short-hand-scratched-notes-during-class-don't-get-caught-by-the-prof phase. Enjoy!

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"_Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know weather you did it or not."_

_ Unknown_

Greg order Chinese food while Sara got ready for work. Greg laughed as he realized that the majority of Sara's speed dial numbers were for take out restaurants. Ordering kid-friend and vegetarian food wasn't the easiest thing, but figured worse came to worse; they could always have peanut butter and jelly. After the food arrived, the trio sat down to eat. Sara was unsure how to broach the subject of her going to work, but she figured honesty worked before so she might as well stick to that.

"Sadie, kiddo, you know I have to go to work tonight, right?" Sara asked the child.

"I don't want you to go. I don't want to stay alone. Can Greg stay with me?" Sadie asked fearfully. Sara seeing this as an opportunity replied.

"I think we could arrange to have Greg stay here," Sara smiled at Greg. "But you don't have to worry, I wouldn't leave you alone." Sara told the child.

"But what happens if I have a bad dream or the monster comes back?" Sadie asked still scared.

"Well Greg will be here if you have a bad dream, and the 'Anti-Monster Spray' is still next to the bed so you can spray him if the monster comes back. And you can call me if you want." Sara got up and grabbed the house phone and her cell phone. She wrote down her cell phone number and handed it to Sadie with the house phone. "Go ahead, try it." Sara encouraged the girl. Sadie dialed the number and giggled when Sara picked up her cell phone pretending not to know who was calling. Greg watched the interaction between Sara and Sadie with amazement. He had never seen Sara open up so much to anyone or that she could have such a gentle side to her. He wasn't worried about watching Sadie for the night, especially if it meant he got to spend another night at Sara's, but he was curious to see how Sara would react. This would be the longest amount of time she was away from Sadie since the little girl arrived and he wondered if Sara could handle it.

Reluctantly Sara realized it was time to go. She hugged Sadie good-bye and told her to call anytime she wanted to. Greg escorted Sara to the door. When they were out of eyeshot of Sadie, Greg leaned in and gave Sara a lingering kiss good-bye. Sara smiled and said to Greg.

"Please let the apartment be in one piece by the time I get home."

"Hakuna Matata!" Greg replied. Sara rolled her eyes and headed out to her car.

Greg turned to Sadie after closing the door and said.

"Do you know what this place needs?" Sadie looked at him curiously. "This place needs a fort!" Greg laughed and the two searched through the apartment getting all the supplies they needed to make the best fort.

Arriving at the lab Sara glanced into the back seat to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. That's when she saw it. The booster seat was sitting idly in the back seat. Lindsey's old booster seat that Catherine had given her to become Sadie's booster seat. And all at once everything hit Sara. She had fallen in love with the little girl and would move heaven and earth to protect her. Sara Sidle, the least maternal of anyone she worked with, well other than Grissom, was hoping to walk into DCFS tomorrow and adopt the child. A week ago, she had been dreading the long weekend off, but now she realized it was the best weekend she ever had. She knew she had changed and she reveled in it. She knew she had to talk to Grissom about what was going on, she just hoped he would be supportive. Walking in to the lab with a new sense of purpose she ran into Nick and Warrick. Undoubtedly Catherine had told them her reaction to finding out they had researched her, and hopefully they would take it to heart.

"Hey girl, where's your mini-me?" Warrick asked with a smile. He didn't know if Sara would be pissed with him, but he figured he deserved it.

"She at home with Greg for the night." Sara replied, she could Warrick was being slightly tentative, but appreciated him not pushing her.

"Man, your apartment is going to be destroyed between the two of them!" Nick added.

"I'm trying not to think of that," Sara laughed.

"Listen, Sara, we're sorry, we didn't mean to pry into your life, well ok, technically we meant to, but we should have told Catherine we weren't going to help her, it wasn't right, we're sorry." Warrick laid all his cards on the table.

"I got pissed about that, it wasn't right, but I wasn't honest with you guys so what should I expect?" Sara asked rhetorically. "Plus when Catherine's got you by the balls, figuratively, or literally, who could fight her?" Sara replied with a smirk. Warrick turned bright red, Nick held onto the wall to keep from collapsing from laughter.

"How'd you know?" Warrick squeaked.

"I have my ways," Sara smirked again.

"Lindsey?" Nick suggested before both him and Sara broke into another fit of laughter when they saw Catherine walking towards them. Seeing Warrick red with embarrassment and the reactions of Nick and Sara, Catherine chose not to ask what had happened.

"So are you ready for your first night without Sadie?" Catherine asked while trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just a little worried about her." Sara replied.

"And the state that your apartment will be in when you return." Nick joked. They all laughed, unsure of what Sara would be coming home to.

"Well, I've got to go home to an ever maturing teenager. I'm hoping my house is in one piece." Catherine added as she said good-bye to the group.

"Yeah, I should be going too." Warrick added trying to make it obvious that he wasn't leaving with Catherine, but Nick and Sara saw right through him and began to laugh again. When they had calmed down, Nick said.

"I should be going too. I'm sorry about everything, but if you need any help give me a call." Nick said sincerely as he left. Sara knew the next challenge would be talking to Grissom. Heading to his office she was interrupted by her cell phone ringing. Seeing it was her home phone she momentarily panicked.

"Sidle."

"Is Sara there?" A young voice came over the phone. Sara smiled.

"Yeah, kiddo, it's me, are you ok?" Sara asked trying not to sound worried.

"I'm ok. Me and Greg made a fort. It's cool!" Sadie replied excitedly.

"That's great." Sara tried to sound enthusiastic but was worried by what she would eventually find when she returned.

"I just wanted to say good night. Good night Sara," Sadie chirped into the phone.

"Good night kiddo, I'll see you in the morning." Sara replied before hanging up. Sitting in his office Grissom had heard everything. He was right, the child was good for Sara, and Sara was good for the child. He was worried what would happen in the morning when the child was returned to DCFS. His thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on the door. It was Sara.

"Sara come it, how was your time off?" Grissom asked sincerely.

"It was great actually. But there's something I need to talk to you about." Sara began. "Since Sadie's been with me, I realized something, we have a connection. I need to protect her so that she doesn't have to go through what I went through. I called and left a message with DCFS, but I wanted to let you know too, I'm going to try to adopt Sadie." Sara said with confidence. Grissom was stunned. Proud and in awe, but very stunned.

"Well Sara, I think this would be a great thing for both you and Sadie. You have my full support and you have plenty of vacation time saved up if you need to take some time off. It's going to be hard, but I think you can do it." Grissom replied.

"Thank you, Griss…" Sara replied honestly. "Oh, and I almost forgot, Greg colored this for you with Sadie." Sara slipped the picture of the racing cockroaches on to Grissom's desk. Grissom looked at it and laughed.

"I know Greg's been working hard to impress me since he's been promoted to a CSI, but I don't think Ecklie would see this as exemplary work. We'll just keep this in here." Sara laughed at Grissom's attempt at a joke as they headed to the break room to meet Sofia and get their assignments.

Sara had gotten a drowning case. A little boy had climbed under a fence that surrounded the pool and had fallen in. It was purely accidental, and Sara saw the pain and anguish in the parents faces. They hadn't been able to protect him. Sara couldn't image loosing Sadie, but she remembered that Sadie wasn't yet hers, and she could lose her very soon. Worried, Sara called home to check on Greg and Sadie. Greg picked up the phone and could hear the tension in Sara's voice. Greg told Sara that Sadie had fallen asleep as they were watching movies and that everything was going fine. He hoped that it would calm Sara down. After Sara told Greg about the case he could understand her worry, but reassured her that everything was fine. Eventually calming down, Sara returned to the lab to write her report and submit it to Grissom. The rest of the night was uneventful. Before leaving she asked Grissom if she could take a few days off to be with Sadie and to get the matter of DCFS under control. Grissom willingly agreed, and wished Sara the best of luck.

Sara left the lab on time for the first time in a long time. She was not interested in staying to catch up on paperwork or review old cases. She wanted to go home and be with the two people that were becoming the better part of her life. Unlocking the door quietly, as to not to wake anyone that may be asleep, Sara stifled a laugh as she saw the state of her living room. There was a fort in there all right. A giant fort. Looking into the door of the fort, Sara covered her mouth to keep from laughing. Sleeping side by side in the fort was Greg and Sadie. Oblivious to anything around them. As strange as it was, Sara was tempted to join them. Being careful not to wake either one, Sara laid down in the space between Sara and Greg. Sara felt Greg's arm unconsciously wrap around her as she joined them in a deep sleep.


	23. Daniels

To all my great reviewers- thank you so much! But before you request a sequel, let me finish the story first! I've still got a few chapters to pull out, but school is over so they might be coming up quickly! Good luck to everyone else that's suffering through exams!

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"_A brief candle; both ends burning  
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning  
A friend to share the lonesome times  
A handshake and a sip of wine  
So say it loud and let it ring  
We are all a part of everything  
The future, present and the past  
Fly on proud bird  
You're free at last."_

_Charlie Daniels_

Sara awoke to a ringing phone. Momentarily questioning why she was on the floor, she began to remember joining Sadie and Greg in the make shift fort after she got home from work. Scurrying to pick up the phone before the caller hung up, Sara was out of breath.

"Sidle," Sara exhaled into the phone.

"Hello, Ms. Sidle, this is Rene from DCFS, I was calling about the message you left me."

"Oh, yeah, I was hoping to speak to you when we brought Sadie in this morning." Sara replied.

"Yes, that would be good, but I was just calling to tell you that I am transferring Sadie's case to another caseworker. When you come by this morning, you'll want to speak to Elizabeth Donah. She's been a caseworker for years out in California, but recently moved to the area to be near her son and granddaughter. Please bring Sadie by around eleven. I'm sure there will be many questions for both parties." With that Rene said good-bye and hung up. Sara understood the woman was busy but this seemed much like a brush off. Realizing there was only two hours before she had to bring Sadie to DCFS she began to wake both Sadie and Greg. Looking down at Sadie, Sara suddenly realized that this might be the last two hours she spends with the child. Brushing the little girl's forehead, the child slowly began to wake up. With a smile the little girl sat up and gave Sara a hug. Sara didn't want to ever have to let go. Feeling the motion around him, Greg woke up. He looked at Sara and Sadie and smiled.

"Good morning, my two princesses." Greg said. He thought he'd get hit by Sara for the comment, but realized that Sara was still holding on to Sadie and was reluctant to let go. Then it came to him, Greg realized what today was. Today could be their last day with Sadie. He joined the embrace and they all let go when they hear Sadie giggle.

"You guys are squishing me!" They all laughed. Sadie helped Sara make breakfast while Greg disassembled the fort. Joining them at the table when breakfast was done, they all ate in relative silence. When Sadie had finished she ran into the living room and began to color.

"I see she wore you out." Sara stated.

"Hey, I was more than happy to sleep in our fort." Greg smiled. "Especially when someone else joined us." Sara hadn't been sure last night if Greg would even notice, but she now knew he did.

"I couldn't let you guys have all the fun." Sara replied.

"So who called this morning?" Greg was curious but had a good idea who it was.

"DCFS, they said they received my message and we'd talk about it when I brought Sadie in. Oh, and they're transferring the case to another social worker. Elizabeth Donah. Funny, the name sounds strangely familiar." Sara said.

"Maybe you worked with her on a case?" Greg asked.

"I don't think so, they said she just transferred here from California." Sara shrugged.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Greg asked. Sara just nodded; she knew she was going to need him there, especially if Sadie wasn't going to be able to stay with her. "I'm here for you no matter what." Greg said giving Sara's shoulder a squeeze. He bent down and whispered into her ear, "Hakuna Matata." And was pleased it brought a smile to her face.

"You know, I never got to see the end of that movie." Sara replied, as her grin got bigger.

"I think we can arrange to see it again." Greg said with a elusive smirk.

An hour and a half later, Sara was helping Sadie pack her new belongings into the backpack that Sara had bought for her. Sara explained to Sadie where they were going, and Sadie became frightened.

"But you said I could stay with you forever." Sadie exclaimed with tears welling in her eyes.

"Yes I did, and trust me, I want you to, but we've got to go to DCFS and show them that you're ok. It's kind of like a check in." Sara tried to explain, she hoped it was that and nothing more. "No matter what happens, I will fight for you to stay with me, I promise." Sara added as she swept the little girl into a hug.

The drive to DCFS was quiet, for everyone was lost in their own world. Pulling into the first available parking spot, Sara parked the car and helped Sadie out of her booster seat. Feeling the need to protect Sadie, Sara carried the little girl on her hip, as Greg gathered the backpack. Walking into DCFS reminded Sara of walking into the hospital just a few days ago, only this time, she wanted to stay as close a possible to the little girl. Through the flurry of activity, they made their way to the front desk. The receptionist who was clearly overworked looked up when Sara coughed to get her attention.

"Hi, I'm Sara Sidle, and this is Sadie Motts, we're here to see an Elizabeth Donah." The receptionist nodded and pointed to the chairs for them to wait in. A few minuets later an older woman walked into the waiting area. Sara looked at the older woman and thought she looked hauntingly familiar, but could not place the face. The older woman walked up to her and asked.

"Are you Ms. Sidle?" Sara nodded. "Than this must be Sadie." The older woman smiled at the little girl that clung to Sara. "My name is Elizabeth Donah. Dough-naw, like do-nut." The older woman replied hoping to get a smile from the little girl. Sadie just preceded to burry her head deeper into Sara's shoulder.

"Ms. Donah, My name's Sara Sidle, and this is my…" Sara paused, what was Greg? She looked at him and he looked like he didn't know either, finally Sara finished. "This is my best friend, Greg Sanders." Greg would have been willing to be anything of Sara's, and didn't expect her to say 'boyfriend' but was touched that she had said he was her best friend.

"Sara Sidle, have we met before? Your name sounds familiar, but anyways it's nice to meet the both of you, why don't you follow me to my office." Elizabeth lead the way to a cluttered office that reminded both Sara and Greg of Grissom's office, only much more paperwork and much less bugs. When they were all seated, Elizabeth began.

"Rene told me a little of how you came to take Sadie for the extended weekend. I really wanted to thank you for that, I see she has really taken well to you." Elizabeth said as she eyed the little girl sitting in Sara's lap. "Rene also told me about the message you left her. That you're interested in fostering her and possibly further. May I ask why you came to this decision?" Sara liked Elizabeth's forwardness and found it strangely comforting.

"I have grown attached to Sadie. And I don't want her to be put in a foster home, she's to young for the pain that it can cause. I've got a stable job, and am financially set and would like to create a home for Sadie." Sara said, trying to be confident. Greg put his hand over Sara's free hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. This didn't go unnoticed by Elizabeth.

"May I ask you why you are apprehensive about Sadie being in a group home?" Elizabeth asked. Sara took a deep breath before she began. She did not like talking about her past, but in the last 72 hours she had opened herself up to more people than she had in the last 20 years.

"I entered the system when I was thirteen and stayed in a group home till I left for college." Sara stated. Elizabeth starred at Sara. Elizabeth knew she knew her from somewhere, she had seen those eyes before.

"May I ask where?" Elizabeth was being formal, but she wanted to know as much as she could.

"Where as in college? Harvard." Sara didn't like showing off her education, but she knew in this instance it might help. "Or where as in group home? Bay Youth Home." Elizabeth just stared at the woman in front of her. She knew where she remembered Sara.

"Sara Marie?" Elizabeth asked. Sara was taken back, no one had called her that since…. Since she had been taken to the group home. All she could do was nod at the woman. "Sara Marie Sidle?" The woman repeated as Sara nodded. "You were…. You were my first case." Greg watched the conversation in awe; it was one thing to hear about Sara's past, it was another thing to meet some one from it. Sara just sat with her jaw open. After Elizabeth had regained some composure she continued on. "Well, to foster a child, you need to have completed the state mandated fostering class. In some cases, the child can stay with the potential foster family while the family is enrolled in the class. We have a hard time placing children over the age of five, so it is a probability that she could stay with you. However, we're going to need to take her for an evaluation and see if she is comfortable staying with you." Elizabeth rattled off.

"She can stay with me?" Sara replied. She didn't catch much of what the woman had said for Sara had still been in shock. Sensing Sara's shock, Greg tried to gather as much information as he could.

"So when will Sadie be evaluated? What do the classes entail? Would it be ok for me to accompany Sara to the classes? Will Sadie get to stay with Sara the whole time we are taking classes? When are the classes?" Greg fired off as many questions as he could think of. Elizabeth smiled; she was becoming fond of the young couple, even if the support structure was a friendship.

"We can have Sadie evaluated this afternoon, it was already scheduled to establish where the best placement would be. However, I think I may have found the right one." Elizabeth smiled at Greg and Sara. "The classes are usually at night, twice a week, and go over the general needs of foster children and how the system works. You, and anyone else is more than welcome to accompany Sara to the classes."

'She can really stay with me?" Sara asked again.

"Yes, but she needs to be evaluated, and I would like to talk to you for a moment privately if possible." Elizabeth added. "There's a soda machine outside," She motioned to Greg. Greg took the hint and held his had out for Sadie.

"Come on kiddo, let's get something to drink, and let these ladies talk about me. You know being so cool can be such a burden sometimes!" Greg said attempting to be serious. Sadie giggled and climbed off of Sara's lap taking his hand. After they had left Elizabeth turned to Sara.

"It's been a long time." Elizabeth said. "I'm sorry Sara, I thought I had failed you, I never found out what had happened to you. I was young and didn't know what I was doing. I'm sorry." Sara studied the woman for a long time. She remembered the woman holding her hand but that was it.

"It's ok. I'm sorry, but I don't remember much of you." Sara stated.

"You were my first case. I remember getting you from your house, you were scared and so banged up but you had the biggest brown eyes I had ever seen. You refused to go with me until you collected some of your books. Big books, books I thought we too advanced for you, but you refused to go anywhere without your books. I brought you to the group home and told you I'd be back to check on you. When I discussed your case with my supervisor, he said I was becoming too involved and pulled me from the case. I always wondered what happened to you. I felt like I had lied to you because I had promised I'd be back to check on you." Elizabeth looked at Sara to see a slight smile.

"My books were stolen my third day at the group home. But I survived. I graduated high school early to get out of the group home and went to Harvard. I ended up at Berkley and worked for San Francisco PD for a while, and then my mentor gave me the chance to work in Vegas. That's how I got here." Sara realized it was a bit of a non-answer but hoped it made the woman happy.

"Are you happy?" Elizabeth asked. Sara was surprised for a moment and replied.

"I've gone through a lot. A lot that I try not to remember, but Harvard opened doors for me. I've got an amazing job that I'm good at, and I've got friends that have proved that they're there for me. Yeah, it was a long time coming, but I am happy." Sara replied with a smile. The older woman beamed.

"I'm going to do whatever I can to help you. It's rare that someone from the system comes back to help someone else in the system, but when it happens it's usually a positive experience. I've felt so guilty for so long remembering my first case; it was the first time I felt like I failed a child. I promise I'll do whatever is in my power so that you can foster Sadie." Elizabeth replied determined. Sara smiled and asked.

"So where do we go from here?"

"Well we'll start with Sadie's evaluation. A child psychologist does it and defines what the needs of the child are. She is scheduled for this an exam this afternoon. I'll put into motion the paperwork to have her stay with you until a decision is made, however I don't think that should be a problem. You'll be able to foster her until relatives willing to take her are found or a year has passed. If after a year no relatives have been found she becomes a permanent warden of the state and may be adopted by the foster family, if you choose to do so." Elizabeth noted Sara lighten up. "You'll need to enroll yourself in the foster care classes, and we'll schedule regular home visits so I can check on the progress of Sadie."

By this time Sadie and Greg had returned. Greg noticed Sara's smile and knew things had gone well. Sadie looked at Sara then at Elizabeth and spoke up.

"Do I get to stay with Sara?"

"Well, it looks pretty good for us kiddo," Sara responded.

"You'll have to go meet someone this afternoon, but for now, it looks like you are going to be able to if that's what you want." Elizabeth responded.

"I do, I want to stay with Sara forever." Sadie eagerly replied. Elizabeth smiled at the child. She hoped that Sadie would be able to stay with Sara forever too. Elizabeth gave Sara and Greg directions to the psychologist's office and a stack of paper work to fill out. The visit with the psychologist went without a hitch. The psychologist was pleased with Sadie's attachment to Sara and Greg and said that it could be a very good healing tool. Signing the paperwork stating that the psychologist had full confidence in Sadie continuing to thrive with Sara, Greg, Sara, and Sadie all returned to DCFS. By this time, Elizabeth had completed her own paperwork, releasing Sadie into the custody of Sara and scheduled a home visit.

Despite Sara's happiness, she realized she was going to have some work to do. Her one bedroom apartment was not going to be big enough for Sadie to stay with her full time, and Sara would need to find a sitter for Sadie when Sara had to work, and there would be the issue of getting Sadie enrolled in school in the fall. Greg saw the distress creeping into Sara's expression and just stated.

"Why don't you ask Grissom for some time off. You have plenty of vacation time saved up." Sara didn't know how Greg knew what to say or do, but was so happy to have him with her. She nodded and agreed with Greg.

_Read, review, rant, rave! Thanks!_


	24. Unknown, yet again

To all my amazing reviewers: I'm so sorry I've taken a leave of absence. I am in the process of moving from college in Michigan to my parents home in Maine. It's a long enough trip as is, but when I've got ten tons of shit to move, it makes it that much worse, so sorry for the delay, and I hope you continue to enjoy, it's almost over!

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"_To succeed is nothing, it is an accident. But to feel no doubts about oneself is something very different, it is character."_

_Unknown_

"Hey Griss.." Sara called Grissom's office figuring even at this early of an hour he'd be in working on something.

"Hello Sara, what can I do for you?"

"Well, we meet with DCFS today, and it's looking like Sadie will be able to stay with me. I was wondering if I could take some time off to get situated. I have to look for a new place to live, a babysitter and there is other things I have to deal with." Sara rambled on.

"Sara, I'm surprised, I had to force you to take the weekend off and now you're asking for more time after being back to work only one day?" Grissom replied. Sara was shocked, not catching the joke. "I think it's an amazing thing you are doing for this little girl. I am very proud of you, and you have more than enough vacation time saved up. Take the week, we've been slow lately, and if things get out of hand I'll pull someone from days. I'm sure they'll enjoy having a break from Ecklie."

"Thanks Griss… I really appreciate it." Sara was happy, realizing that Grissom had been joking earlier.

"Take today as a personal day, and I'll set up the rest of the paperwork. Believe it or not, you're allowed to take a maternity leave when adopting a child. I can bring the paperwork to you in the next few days, or you can pick it up." Grissom added.

"Well, would it be ok for you to send it with Greg?" Sara asked tentatively. "He's been helping me out with Sadie, and you'll probably see him before you see me. Thanks again."

"Yeah, no problem." Grissom stammered. Sara prepared for the onslaught of the negatives of office romance, but was shocked to hear Grissom joke again. "Sara, I have no problem with developments in the relationship between you and Greg, however, for everyone's sake, don't let him share his taste in music with Sadie." Sara was almost too shocked laugh. She told Greg what was going on, and he fended a hurt look, before joining in the laughter. After hanging up with Grissom, Sara contemplated whom to call next.

"Willows."

"Hey Cath, how's it going? Did I wake you up?" Sara said slyly.

"Surprisingly no, hey, weren't you meeting with the social worker today? How did it go? Is Sadie still with you? Did Greg go with you guys? Is he still there? What's going on between you and Greg?" The ambush of questions just came rattling out of Catherine.

"Yes, good, yes, yes, yes, no comment." Sara replied smugly.

"Really, hmmm" Catherine replied as she processed the new information. "Well I guess things went well with DCFS then?"

"Yeah, I have to take a fostering course, but they said she could stay with me. And I have to get some stuff done, so I'm going to take some time off. The caseworker said she'd help. She was…. Nice." Sara paused; she didn't know how much she wanted to tell Catherine. True, Catherine already knew about her past, but Sara wasn't sure if she wanted to get into the subject again. Catherine sensed that Sara was not sharing everything and asked.

"She was nice? Is there something else going on?"

"Umm… yeah… She was my caseworker. I don't remember her, but she remembers me." Sara laid all her cards on the table.

"Wow, that amazing." Catherine didn't want to upset Sara with drawing on details of past, but couldn't resist to joke with Sara. "If she was your caseworker from when you were a kid, she must be like 150 years old." Catherine added with a laugh.

"Har, har, very funny Catherine. You're older than me." Sara replied promptly shutting Catherine up. Sara continued, "So I have to find a bigger place to live, and a sitter, and get everything organized, and I've got to get Sadie more clothing, and a bed, and…" Sara rambled on. Catherine recognized the panic rising and Sara's voice and interrupted.

"Well, as for getting stuff for Sadie, clothing and furniture and all, I'm sure Lindsey wouldn't mind if we went on another shopping trip. Have you thought about what kind of place? Do you want another apartment or a house?"

"Well, I guess if we're making this permanent, I might as well start looking for a house." Sara replied.

"I don't know exactly what you're looking for, or if you even know, but there are a few houses down the street that just went up for sale. It's a good neighborhood and school system, plus I'm sure Lindsey might be able to baby-sit if you guys aren't that far away." Catherine persuaded.

"Wow, Cath, thank you. Thanks for everything. But I haven't even really talked to Sadie yet about what's going on. I need to do that first."

"Yes, you do, but you know we're all here for you if you need anything." Catherine added before saying good-bye and hanging up.

The rest of the ride to Sara's apartment was in comfortable silence. Sara was deep in thought about how to talk to Sadie, while Greg was deep in thought about Sara and Sadie and the possibility of a life with them. As they arrived at Sara's apartment, Sara stated.

"I think I've got to talk to Sadie about this." She said in hushed tones so that only Greg could hear.

"I think you should too. Just you and her." Greg said.

"Yeah but I don't want you to feel like I'm kicking you out." Sara said with a grin.

"Well how about this, you tell me what you're looking for in a house, and I'll check out the houses that Catherine was talking about. While I'm looking you could talk to Sadie." Greg stated.

"You wouldn't mind doing that for me?" Sara was surprised. Greg was a great guy, but being willing to go house hunting for her was a cut above.

"I'd be my pleasure." Greg smiled. Sara brought Sadie into the house while Greg got into his car and left for Catherine's neighborhood. Getting into the house, Sadie asked.

"Can I watch Nemo?"

"Not right now kiddo, I wanted to talk to you." Sara replied as she sat down on the couch. Sadie instantly climbed into Sara's lap. "You remember how you asked if you could stay with me 'forever'? Well that's why we went to go see Mrs. Donah. She said that you could stay with me. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Sara asked. Sadie nodded.

"I get to stay with you! Are you going to be my new mommy? Is Greg going to be my daddy?" Sadie replied with excitement. Sara was taken back by Sadie wanting Greg to be her new father.

"For now, I'm going to be your foster mother, and for right now Greg's going to be Greg, that's something else."

"But you kissed him, doesn't that mean you love him?" Sadie interrupted.

"When did you see that? You've been spending too much time with Lindsey!" Sara was in shock at the little girl's discovery. Thrown off track Sara was trying to compile herself when Sadie asked.

"So if I am going to stay with you, do I call you mommy? But I already have a mommy." Sara looked at the little girl. The look on Sadie's face broke her heart. She knew what it was like to live through the abuse but still hold a place for her mother and father.

"Your mommy and daddy with always be your mommy and daddy, how about instead of call me Sara we go online and find out another word for 'mom' that way you can have a mommy and a.. well a whatever."

"You want me to call you 'whatever'?" Sadie giggled.

"You are a handful!" Sara joined in the laughter.

"Can we find a name for Greg too?" Sadie asked. Sara though for a moment.

"You remember how his sister called him 'Greggy-pooh'? How about you call him 'pooh'?" Sara said with a smirk.

"I like that!" Sadie agreed. After searching the internet Sara and Sadie had come up with a list of alternatives for the word 'mom'. Sadie looked down the list, and then looked at Sara as if she was trying to see how each one fit. Finally she looked up and asked. "Can I call you memaw?" Sara thought it sounded funny, but some how it seemed to fit.

"Sure you can call me memaw. What can I call you?" Sara said with a smile.

"Sadie, duh," Sadie giggled. "Or kiddo, you always call me kiddo." Sara smiled.

"So miss kiddo, any other probing questions?" Sara tried to say with a straight face.

"The lady we meet today, how did you know her?" Sadie carefully asked. Sara was surprised by the little girl's perceptiveness and the sudden turn to seriousness.

"Remember how I told you I had nightmares like yours?" Sara carefully asked Sadie. The little girl nodded her head. "She was the one that came and got me out of there like Ms. Rene did at the hospital." Sadie studied Sara for a moment, before wrapping her arms around Sara and saying.

"I love you Memaw."

"I love you too, kiddo."


	25. Proverb

Ok, so I admit, the last chapter wasn't one of my best. Sorry, and I'm also sorry for the big gaps in my updates. I'm slow, but I hope you enjoy this chapter. It'll be the final chapter before the epilogue, so I hope you continue to enjoy! Thanks for all your great reviews, you rock!

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_One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade._

_Chinese proverb_

"Sidle" Sara picked up her phone.

"Hey it's me, Greg, I've got some sad news for you." Greg tried to sound somber.

"Is everything ok?" Sara began to panic.

"Well, you see, I talked to Catherine, and she told me which four houses were for sale, so I went to check them out." Greg had to try harder not to laugh.

"Ok," Sara replied confused.

"And I looked at the first one, and it was smaller than your apartment. Then I went to the second one, and yeah, we'll just say your cleaning OCD would not be able to handle how dirty this one was. And the third one, well, 'fixer-upper' would be an understatement." Greg paused.

"Well, what about the fourth one?" Sara was getting impatient.

"Oh yeah, the fourth one." Greg paused again, this time for effect. "Yeah the fourth one, it's for sale by this older couple that built the house but are moving out east to be near their new grandson."

"So what's wrong with the house?" Sara was confused.

"There's nothing wrong with the house. It's perfect!" Greg could finally release his excitement.

"Are you serious? What do you mean? What is it like?" Sara was getting excited.

"It's perfect, it has a porch, and a big back yard, and a deck." Greg quickly replied.

"Well what about bedrooms, and bathrooms, did they say how much it costs?" Sara was excited but realized she needed to know more.

"There's four bedrooms, and 2 ½ bathrooms, and it's in the price range. You should come over; the Kenzy's are really nice. You'll love it." Greg was so excited he would have driven back to Sara's apartment and carried her to the house if she didn't come immediately.

"Ok, I'll be there in a little bit, just let me get Sadie ready, where is it?" Sara asked.

"It's the ocean blue house four houses down from Catherine's." Sara packed up Sadie into the car and speed off to meet Greg. She parked behind Greg's car and took a moment to look at the house. It was big. Bigger than she ever imagined she'd live in, but the last week had shown her a lot of things that she'd never imagined but had been true blessings. Sara got Sadie out of her booster seat and carried her down the driveway to meet up with Greg. Sadie wiggled out of Sara's arms and ran to Greg.

"Pooh!" Sadie said as she jumped into Greg's arms.

"Pooh?" Greg asked Sara confused.

"That's what she wants to call you. She's calling me Memaw." Sara just shrugged her shoulders.

"Memaw?" Greg chuckled. "That sounds like something I'd call my grandma."

"I think it's sweet, and unique." Sara stated before whispering into Greg's ear, "And if you make fun of it I'll kick your ass."

"Ok, point taken. Come on, let's go see the house." Greg grabbed Sara's hand while holding still holding Sadie. An older lady opened the door and welcomed them in.

"You must be Sara," she held her hand out for the women, "And you must be Sadie." The older woman ruffled the little girl's hair. "I'm not sure what your husband told you, but my name's Martha Kenzy, and we've been looking for a good buyer. My George and I built this house 40 years ago, and we've lived here ever since. Raised our four kids here, too." The older women spoke with a smile. Greg worried that Mrs. Kenzy mistaking him for Sara's husband but he was surprised to feel Sara give his hand a squeeze.

"Oh, you two must be the young couple Martha was talking about." A burly man that resembled an over sized teddy bear joined the group. "I'm George Kenzy," the man held his hand out to Greg and Sara. "I remember when our oldest daughter was your age. It seems like yesterday, now she's probably older than your mom!" The man smiled at Sadie. Sadie giggled. The Kenzy's proceeded to show Sara and Greg the rest of the house. Sara realized that Greg had been right. The house was perfect.

"It's getting late, dears, would you like to join us for dinner?" Mrs. Kenzy offered Greg and Sara.

"Don't worry, Martha always makes too much for the two of us. If you join us, I won't have to eat spaghetti for the next week straight." Mr. Kenzy joked.

"Is there meat in it?" Greg asked well aware of Sara distain for meat.

"Oh no, don't worry, George took one to many trips to McDonald's during his time on the force. And now his cholesterol is sky high." Mrs. Kenzy replied. Both Sara and Greg were amused by the older couple's gentle banter.

"You were on the force? We're both CSI." Sara spoke up.

"That's wonderful, do you work much with Jimmy?" Mr. Kenzy asked.

"Jimmy?" Sara asked confused.

"Oh yes, Jimmy… hmm what was his last name… oh yes, Jimmy Brass. We use to call him Jimmy John as a newbie to Vegas because we made him go on all our Jimmy John's runs." Mr. Kenzy revealed. They all laughed.

"Yeah, we work with him often, Catherine Willows too, she lives just down the street." Greg added.

"Oh, she's a CSI? Ok good, a pretty young thing like that, I was hoping she wasn't driving back from working in some strip club. We see her driving home every morning when we walk." Mrs. Kenzy added. Greg and Sara tried to hide their smirks.

After the meal, the Kenzy's gave Sara and Greg the seller's contract and their contact information to look over. Sara willingly took the paperwork and promised to get back to the couple within the next few days. Sara, Greg, and Sadie left feeling excited and happy.

Sadie slept for most of the ride home, but once they were back at Sara's apartment, she quickly woke up and asked.

"Can I watch Nemo?"

"Again?" Sara and Greg asked in unison. Sadie nodded her head; Sara shrugged and set the DVD up for the little girl. Sara knew the little girl would be asleep in minuets. Greg was happy for the diversion, there had been something on his mind for most of the afternoon, but he wasn't sure how to approach it. He looked at Sara and was about to speak when she spoke up.

"So what's going on? You've been quiet."

"Well, I was thinking. I saw how much you love that house, and it would be perfect for you and Sadie, but I know how hard it is to buy a house, and I want to help. I've got a pretty good amount in savings, so if you want, I can help with the down payment or something." Greg rambled off. Sara was stunned.

"Wow, Greg, thank you, I really appreciate it, but I think I can handle it. You know I occasionally do some over time and have that saved up." Sara said with a laugh. Greg joined her. As the laughter died, Greg leaned in and kissed Sara passionately. Momentarily lost in the kiss, Sara pulled back when the need for air became too strong. Breathing heavily, she looked at Greg and said.

"I don't know exactly what we are or where this is going, but I have Sadie now, for good hopefully, and she's going to come before anyone else." Sara stated hoping that Greg wouldn't see it as a rejection.

"I wouldn't expect it to be any other way." Greg stated. With that Sara's fears dissolved. She stood up and covered the now sleeping Sadie with a blanket and turned to a confused Greg. She held out her hand.

"I'd like to see where this goes, but my bedroom is much more comfortable than the kitchen." Greg stared at her in awe for a moment before quickly following Sara to her bedroom.


	26. EpilougeWhite

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with the story. You are awesome! So therefore, I dedicate the story to you!

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Sixth Months Later 

**(December-ish)**

"There isn't much better in this life than finding a way to spend a few hours in conversation with the people you respect and love. You have to carve this time out of your life because you aren't really living without it."

_Unknown_

It had become their routine. On nights that both Sara and Greg worked, Catherine would drop Lindsey off at Sara's house to join Sara, Sadie, and usually Greg for dinner. Then Sara would bring the girls back to Catherine's place on the way to work so that Lindsey could baby-sit until Catherine got home. Sadie would stay the night and Sara would join them for breakfast at Catherine's. Sara would then drop Lindsey and Sadie off at school, because Lindsey reasoned it was much cooler to have Sara drop her off at school than to have her mom do it.

As cool as Lindsey was, everyone had also noticed a big change in her. Her grades had greatly improved; she gave her mom a lot less attitude, and had only gotten in trouble once for fighting. Even though she was grounded for it, Catherine was secretly pleased with her daughter when she Brandon Fisher's nose for trying to kiss her.

Despite Ecklie's refusal to regroup the swing and graveyard shifts, Sara and Catherine continued their friendship. Catherine was a goldmine of insight as how to raise a daughter, work beyond fulltime, and still have some sanity left.

Sara and Greg's relationship flourished. Most of Greg's belongings had made their way into Sara's house, and he would be moving in with her and Sadie at the end of the year when his lease ran out.

All efforts to find a living relative of Sadie's had failed. Yet, it was positive failures that lead to the adoption paperwork to be drawn up early, which Sara had signed at the first possible moment. Sadie would be staying with her 'forever' and both were happy. Greg had willingly signed at second in custody for Sadie as well.

"Come on kiddo, it's time for bed." Sara said as she carried the little girl upstairs.

"Will you read me another chapter?" Sadie asked expectantly.

"Of course, but you have to remember to tell Mr. Grissom how much you like the book next time you see him. You know he likes he likes spiders a lot, that's why he bought you the book for your birthday."

"He'd weird." Sadie giggled. "Is pooh coming too?" She asked

"I'm here, they party can start!" Greg said as he came bounding into the little girls room. It wasn't often that both him and Sara each had the night off, and when they did, it was something to celebrate. They began their series of good-nights and I love you's, because they all knew too well how Sadie was often asleep before the end of the story. Sadie snuggled into Sara's arms as they listen to Greg read.

"_**You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."**_

_**Charlotte, "Charlotte's Web" By E.B. White**_

**THE END**

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